Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy
by BansheeGirl
Summary: 7 years after leaving Team Rocket & hearing no word from each other, Jessie & James come to blows when Jessie's company threatens the township James has come to be a part of. But who is plotting to murder Jessie? Can the pair reunite in a time of danger?
1. It's A Deal

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

**Written by BansheeGirl **

**A/N: **Okay, I know that some of you may be thinking that this fic seems just a _little_ familiar. I actually wrote the base of it over a year ago and had it posted up here, but I just don't think that my fic-writing was as… _developed_ as it perhaps could have been back then. I really don't believe that my writing at that point gave the general idea of the fic the justice it deserved! So I've decided to revise the whole story, and hopefully make it an overall better read.

Oh, and just a _little_ hint… this fic is a must-read for rocketshippers!

I'd really love some feedback on this piece, so if you've got the time, PLEASE _do_ review! Thanx lots'n'lots!

Disclaimer: Jessie and James, Team Rocket, Pokémon… none of these things belong to me! Mwahahaha! Haha!

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Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

Chapter 1: It's A Deal

A young woman leant over the boardroom table, extending her hand out across the polished ebony. Her cherry-painted lips curved upward into a satisfied grin. "Thank you _so_ much for coming today, Mr. Brown," the young woman said, shaking the hand of Mr. Brown.

The old man chuckled with a hearty laugh. "My dear, it was entirely our pleasure being able to do business with you and your company," he replied. Not seemingly happy with a mere handshake, he clasped the woman's two hands with his own wrinkled, aged ones and shook them up and down excitedly. Making sure to maintain her apparently amiable disposition, the woman laughed quietly and gently removed her smooth, manicured hands from the grasps of Mr. Brown. Were liver spots contagious?

The score of other businessmen and women that were stationed around the boardroom table promptly began to stand and collect their various papers, pens and portfolios, before quickly filing out of the door. Within seconds there was only the woman, her executive assistant Michael Richton, Mr. Brown and his son, Terrance, standing by the entrance of the boardroom.

"We really do appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Brown. Believe me, you've made the right decision." The woman spoke in an almost sickeningly sweet voice.

The elderly man responded with an oblivious smile. "Oh, I don't doubt your words, Miss Avalon. I know you'll take good care of my company. Won't she, Terrance?"

The younger man – perhaps in his thirties – grunted with discontent. He did not seem so pleased with the outcome of what had been a lengthy meeting – and an even longer settlement that had been running over several months. Indeed, he had been the one responsible for such the delay in what should have been an easy deal. But with the elderly Mr. Brown still president and legal owner of the renowned Silvertop Mining Company, all final decisions rested on his shoulders. Despite Terrance's adamant position in _not_ selling the company that had been in his family for generations, Silvertop Mining Co. was now only a stone's throw away from becoming just another of Paramount Corps. of Saunders' many and ever-growing investments.

"Of course, we'll deliver copies of all the final contracts and paperwork within the next few days. We want you to feel _very_ secure and informed about this agreement," Michael added, as Mr. Brown and his son started out the door. Terrance muttered in cynical disbelief beneath his breath. Michael shot a scornful look at the proven-to-be-very-difficult man, before turning back to Mr. Brown with a pressed smile.

"Thankyou boy, that would be tremendous. Now, I'm dearly sorry but I must be getting back to the office now. There's going to be a lot of work to do now that this plan is going ahead. Good day to you, Michael!" Mr. Brown turned and grinned genuinely again at the woman. "You too, Miss Avalon."

"We will, Mr. Brown. Thankyou," she said, as the two men walked away and out of sight towards the elevator.

Miss Avalon and her executive assistant watched until the father and son had disappeared. They exchanged disturbingly knowing glances before heading out of the room and towards Miss Avalon's office.

"Well Jessica, you certainly performed wonderfully in there," Michael complemented as the pair walked, "Everyone was absolutely convinced that that old geezer was going to be swayed by his wretched son, but you sure proved them wrong."

Jessica smiled in satisfaction. "Michael, you should know by now that I always get my way," she spoke in the confidently nonchalant manner she had become accustomed to. Her assistant raised a semi-curious eyebrow, and the woman rolled her eyes tiresomely. "They're all suckers, Michael. With a bit of sweet-talk and batting your eyelashes you can win anyone over in no time. Especially an old nut like him." She tilted her head back toward the direction from which they had come.

The assistant laughed, and they entered the boss's office. Jessica sauntered over to the large chair stationed at her desk and promptly sat down in it, swinging her legs up onto the table and crossing them. "Who else is coming in today?" she asked the blonde-haired man.

Michael stepped forward to stand before the desk. "Well, let's just see here…" he said, quickly flipping through the folder he was holding. "It looks like there's just one more guy coming in this afternoon. He's the head councilman of that little village in the Crystal Mountains. You know, that place we want to-"

"-Yes, yes, I remember," his boss cut in unenthusiastically.

"Great. I'll bring him in here once he arrives."

Jessica flipped open her notebook computer, signalling that she presently wished to continue with some of her own work – and that she wished for her assistant to leave the room. Michael did not move from his position before her desk. She sighed. Sometimes he could be so insipid. "Have you contacted John Marden about arranging that appointment next week?" Jessica did not look up at her assistant as she spoke.

"Uh, no… I'll go do that now, if you don't need me for anything else."

Jessica shook her head in answer, and in moments Michael had exited the office. Leaning back in her chair, she gazed out of the giant floor-to-ceiling window that comprised an entire wall to her left and smiled smugly to herself. In her mind she indulgently relished what had transpired of an initially miserable life – a previous life which she tended to suppress at any cost.

She was the CEO of a hugely successful company. She was the boss of so many people that she, at times, simply lost count of just how many people worked beneath her. She was able to get even the most affluent of men – just like Mr. Brown – to fall under her influence and eating out of her hand. And of course she only became wealthier and wealthier by the second. Life before now did not matter. She was in her prime, and could not think of a better way to be spending her thriving years. She was one of the most successful businesswomen in all of Saunders City – and all at the mere age of twenty-five!

Shutting the lid of her notebook computer, Jessica's self-satisfied grin widened as she pulled open the drawer in her desk and plucked out a nail file.

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Whew! This whole revision process is taking a lot more time than I thought! I feel like I'm practically rewriting the whole thing… oh well! That just means a better story for you guys! 

Please review this chappie and let me know what you think – if I get lots of reviews then I'll get started on the next chappie as soon as possible! I really want to know your thoughts and opinions… constructive criticism is welcome!

Luv y'all!

BansheeGirl.


	2. The Waiting Game

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

**Written by BansheeGirl **

**A/N:** Haha! I've finally gotten around to rewriting the second chapter of this thing! Go me! Please enjoy, and do review once you've finished!

**Disclaimer:** Nope! I do not claim ownership to any of Pokémon's characters, ideas, concepts… you name it! It's not mine!

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**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

Chapter 2: The Waiting Game

On a busy city sidewalk, a lavender-haired man gazed up at the enormous skyscraper towering above him. Inhaling a deep and prolonged breath, he stepped through the silver rotating doors and was instantly greeted by an elderly attendant stationed on the other side. Somewhat startled by the prompt welcome, the man merely smiled in return before making his way up a short flight of marble steps toward the elevators. The fragrance of fresh flowers wafted through the spacious foyer, and the man could not help but notice the immaculate way in which the inset flowerbeds of pink and purple tulips which lined the marble stairs were kept.

Making his way into an empty elevator, the man pulled out a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket. He quickly glanced at it before hitting a button on the panel beside the elevator doors. With a barely-audible hum the elevator began moving upward. The man felt his heart beat uncontrollably in his chest. He had no idea why he was here. He had no idea what to expect once he'd arrive at his destination. So as his elevator reached the sixteenth floor, the man stepped out and rather reluctantly into a large and animated reception area. Spying an information desk, he quickly made his way over. A strikingly familiar blonde welcomed him.

"Hi!" The girl greeted perkily. "Welcome to Paramount Corps. of Saunders. Like, can I help you today?" The man grimaced at her pronounced valley-girl tone of speaking.

"Yes, thankyou… uh…" The man squinted to read the nametag pinned to the girl's formal white shirt, "Daisy. Thankyou. You see, I received this letter last week requesting for my presence at a… meeting?" The man spoke uncertainly, producing the piece of paper from his jacket pocket again. The receptionist took a fleeting look at it, turned to her computer and swiftly punched a few letters in.

"Yes! You're like, right on time! I'll just send a page to your escort if you'd like to take a seat over there," she said, motioning to some modern-looking chairs and a coffee table in the corner of the reception area.

"Thanks," the man replied with a smile. Stealing one last glimpse at the receptionist – _where had he seen her?_ – he wove his way through the commotion of people moving to and fro through the large area. He finally found himself at the directed corner and sat himself down in the sleek black of a rather oddly-shaped chair. Drumming his fingers impatiently on the leather arm, the man looked around him.

He did not know why he was here. The letter had told him nothing except to make sure that he was available for a meeting on this day. It was a quite an inconvenient request – the mere journey to Saunders City was a task in itself. But not even a warning as to _what _the meeting was about? Why would a big company like this press such an urgent appointment with the lead councilman of an obscure little village tucked away in the mountains? He could make no sense of it. His heart still thumped violently against his chest. He hated being left in such suspense.

Suddenly a blonde-haired man wearing an expensive-looking suit appeared beside him.

"James Morgan?" He asked, punctually.

The lavender-haired man swiftly stood up. "That's me," he said, the relief awash in his voice. He was tired of the waiting game.

The other man affably extended his hand. "Glad to see you arrived safely. I'm Michael Richton, executive assistant here at Paramount Corps. of Saunders."

James warily returned the handshake. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Richton." He was still yet to make an informed decision as to whether these people had requested his presence for a beneficial or harmful cause.

Michael smiled amiably. "Please, do call me Michael."

James raised an eyebrow. "Okay then… Michael. A pleasure to meet you."

"I'll escort you up to Miss Avalon's office now," Charles announced, as he began to ascend a broad flight of stairs. Mr. Morgan followed.

"_Miss_ Avalon? The CEO of Paramount Corps. of Saunders is a _woman_?" James exclaimed, somewhat taken aback by the statement. The letter he had received a week earlier had certainly been empty of any real information about the requested meeting. He suddenly found it increasingly peculiar that he had not even been privy to the name and consequent gender of the very person he was scheduled to meet.

Michael turned his head to James as the pair continued walking, the executive assistant displaying a haughty smile. "Is that really so hard to believe?"

James blushed. "No, I just… assumed it would be a man. I'm not entirely sure why." He silently chided himself. What had led him to make such an offhand assumption? He was not a normally sexist person. Perhaps the fact that most positions of authority in his village were held by men added some weight to the supposition. For a woman – the typically suppressed gender of society – to hold such a seat of power, especially in Saunders City, was a tremendous achievement.

And didn't she know it.

The assistant laughed, and James found himself rather unnerved by the other man's tone. "Let me offer you some advice: _never_ assume anything about Miss Avalon."

James frowned, puzzled by this implication. They passed by rows of working cubicles, each with one or more people seated inside busily talking on phones or expertly tapping away at computers.

Eventually the two men reached another set of elevators. Michael promptly pressed a button, and one pair of metallic doors opened almost immediately. Both stepped inside, and Michael flashed in identification card over a small panel before pushing some more buttons. The doors closed and the elevator began to ascend.

James shifted on his feet. He did not feel comfortable with the man called Michael, but his curiosity eventually defeated any silent antagonism he may have felt. "Hey… uh, Michael?" James asked, trying to choose his words carefully. He was determined not to repeat the same type of mistake had so stupidly made earlier.

Michael turned his head to James and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Listen… you wouldn't by any chance happen to know what this meeting is about, would you? The letter I received last week was quite… sparse on details, so I'm quite unsure as to the exact reason I'm here." James made sure to express his annoyance at this fact through the tone of his voice.

A barely recognisable smirk appeared on the other man's face. "Miss Avalon will let you know in her own good time," was all he said, and with that the elevator doors opened on a new level. They strode out into a long corridor with many doors and smaller corridors leading away to a number of other rooms and offices, obviously for the more important employees of Paramount Corps. of Saunders than the cubicle-workers below.

Before long the pair arrived at a large oak door, which Michael opened. James peered in as Michael revealed the spacious office, which was quite empty considering its size. The entire right wall was made of glass, giving a spectacular view of the immense city below. James was drawn in as Michael continued to hold the door open.

"It appears as though Miss Avalon has stepped out of her office for the time being," Michael said, following James into the room. The oak door automatically closed behind him. He quickly motioned to one of two chairs that sat before a large desk. "If you'd like to have a seat I shall go and alert her of your arrival."

James gave a weak smile, and, under the glare of the executive assistant, seated himself on the chair. "Thanks, that'd be great," he replied unenthusiastically.

Michael grinned almost deviously, before turning on his heel and leaving the room. James listened as the large door automatically clicked shut behind the blonde-haired man.

James breathed a sigh of relief to be out of Michael's presence. He hoped that Miss Avalon would not have the intimidating demeanour that her executive assistant seemed to have. As he looked over the desk before him, and the long-backed chair that sat behind it, he feared that his hopes would not come true. Just her office seemed to radiate an intimidating sense of power.

James sat back in his chair, trying once again to calm down his rapid heartbeat. He could not for the life of him understand why he had been brought here.

All he could do… was wait.

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…Hmmm… interested yet? Intrigued as to what will happen when Jess and Jim finally realise who they're up against? And just exactly _why_ was James requested for this meeting anyway? Make sure to stay tuned for the next instalment of _Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy_! 

As always, please review my ficcie! I'd especially love feedback about my new title for this fic… honest feedback! Is it good, awful, or do you have a better suggestion? I wanna know! Thanx!

Till Next Time,

BansheeGirl.


	3. We Meet Again

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

**Written by BansheeGirl **

A/N: Yay! Third chappie for my lovely story! Please enjoy, and don't forget to leave me lots of lovely reviews when you're done!

Disclaimer: See chapter 1 or 2 if you're really interested in a disclaimer for this ficcie!

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**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

Chapter 3: We Meet Again

The woman had opened the large oak door and swiftly entered her office before James even realised that Miss Avalon had arrived for their meeting. Breaking from an anxious reverie, James peered up just in time to see the professional-looking woman flash past him without a glance. He listened as the heavy door swung closed automatically behind his chair.

The woman appeared quite exasperated, as if she thought the meeting to be nothing more than a mere nuisance. Still not looking toward her guest, she rummaged through some folders spread out across her desk.

"So, Mr. Morgan…" Miss Avalon finally began, her face displaying a nonchalant expression. She looked to have found the folder she had been searching for, and sat herself down in the long-backed chair behind her desk. "How was your trip here?" She was still preoccupied, her eyes quickly scanning a leaf of paper that she had withdrawn from the black folder.

James opened his mouth to answer the question, yet faltered as he began to take in the woman's appearance. On first glance he had merely been surprised that such a young person was running a company like Paramount Corps. on Saunders, but with a quickening heartbeat he realised there was much more to be surprised about…

Miss Avalon did not notice as James failed to answer her question. He was falling into a greater and greater state of astonishment as he gazed over her deep scarlet hair that was pulled back into a neat bun, her eyes that were the colour of sapphires, and the very stylish business jacket and skirt she wore.

He knew those features.

"…Jessie?" He spoke, rather tentatively.

The woman finally looked up at James, her cool expression immediately leaving her face apparently at the sheer utterance of the word 'Jessie'. As she too, realised just whom she was sitting in a room with, James struggled to identify the haunting look he saw in her eyes. The look flickered away almost instantaneously, but whatever it was it made James suddenly feel very unsettled.

It was a long while before either of the pair spoke. Jessie was the one to finally break the silence.

"James," she said, matter-of-factly. She said it more to herself than to James, as if it confirmed the unexpected revelation.

James shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He felt the tension in the room immediately thicken. He felt almost suffocated by it.

Jessie inhaled a long, deep breath. With this she appeared to regain some of her calm composure. With a frosty expression she spoke again. "Well, what a small world. How ironic…" A disturbing smile materialised across her face as she looked down to the black folder resting in her hands, and remembered just why James was here today.

A cautious frown formed on James' features as he forced himself to maintain some sense composure himself. He could not fathom the events of the late – _an order to attend a mysterious meeting with the head of one of Saunders City's largest companies, who turns out to be none other than his Team Rocket partner from more than seven years ago?_

James became increasingly frustrated at the realisation that he was still at a loss in figuring out exactly why he was in Jessie's office in the first place. Intuition told him to be prepared for the worst. Yet strangely, he felt an odd comfort in seeing his old friend from all those years ago.

"So… _you're_ the CEO of Paramount Corps. of Saunders?" James finally articulated, running a hand through his lavender hair.

Jessie smirked callously at the man sitting across from her. "Obviously." She spoke in a tone that made James rethink his apparent comfort in seeing her.

James' eyes moved from Jessie's rigid glare to stare at the small space of floor in front of him. This certainly was not an easy situation. He struggled to find some easy way of approaching the unexpected state of affairs, but could find none. He lifted his head and opened his mouth to speak but again found himself unable to think of anything appropriate to say. Jessie watched on unamused.

"Look James, I'm sure you understand that I am a very busy woman," Jessie said, pushing herself up from her chair and walking around toward James. She half-leant, half-sat against the front of her desk, a little to the left before where James sat. As she looked down at her former partner-in-crime in anticipation of a response to her statement, the lavender-haired man realised this move placed her in a far more domineering position.

"Yes," he finally answered.

Jessie studied her nails as she spoke, "So you'll understand that you are wasting my valuable time as you sit there opening and closing your mouth like a Goldeen?" Her eyebrows remained raised until James nodded concededly. "Excellent. I'm glad we have that sorted out."

Jessie leant back over across her desk to retrieve her black folder. Sitting back up against the front edge of the large desk, she flipped it open and prepared to speak once again. James however, decided to put one thing straight before anything more was said.

"Listen Jessie, I'm not having you talk down to me like this. I came all the way in here for you, and I'd at least expect some sort of respect in return. I know that this is a very difficult situation, but-"

"-I would stop right there if I were you, James," Jessie interrupted in a stern tone. Her eyes narrowed with a look of resent. "You have _no_ idea what this meeting is about – and until you do I'd advise not to get on my bad side by ordering me around like that. And you did not come in here for _me_; you came in here for _my company_."

James remained silent as he stared up at the fiery-haired woman.

"Just watch it, James. You're on _my_ territory, and in the case that you hadn't noticed I hold quite a great deal of power here. Don't even _dream_ that you can order me around." She spoke in an irreconcilably harsh tone – one which James realised was all too familiar.

Suddenly, James saw a flicker of some unidentifiable emotion in Jessie's eyes. It came and disappeared in an even more fleeting fashion before, but there was no mistaking that James had seen it. It was at this point that the anger in Jessie's expression faded – only to be replaced with the same indifference she had acted with previously.

She looked back down at the folder in her hands. "Now, to business…"

James sighed quietly. In the few minutes that he and Jessie had been reunited, it almost seemed like nothing had changed at all. A whole world of memories suddenly crashed down around him. He pushed them away, trying to focus on the matter at hand. The 'business', as Jessie was calling it…

"Now… I understand that you're the head councilman of a little village in the Crystal Mountains…" Jessie said, running her finger down a page in her folder, "…Fieldsville?"

James nodded pensively.

"A nice little spot, Fieldsville?"

James' brow puckered. Why was she asking him this? He examined her unmovable expression, and decided to play along with her little game.

"Well… yes, it is. In fact, I'd say it's just about perfect. I'd rather live nowhere else in the whole world." He spoke with a careful confidence.

Little did he know just how that confidence would be shattered in only moments.

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Teehee! Gee whiz, this revision process really IS taking so long for me to do. I don't think I can even call it 'revision' anymore, because I'm really changing everything! And I mean everything! So from now on, just forget that this ever existed as another story! Brand new (kinda) for your reading pleasure! Woo! 

Please feed me lots'n'lotsa yummy reviews! I'll give you lollies! Lots 'n lotsa lollies!

Okay, I think that's about it for now! Just one more thing – if you're constantly on the lookout for great rocketshippy fics like me, check out the new C2 that Tear, Eevee and myself have formed. It's called 'A Rocket Romance'. Check it out!

Till Next Time,

BansheeGirl.


	4. Coming To Blows

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

**Written by BansheeGirl**

**A/N:** Yes, I know it's been a while but I've finally gotten the fourth chappie written! Yay! Go me! Read on, and please review once you're done! Thanks a bunch!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2 if you're really interested in a disclaimer for this ficcie!

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**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

Chapter 4: Coming To Blows

A sly smile of satisfaction transformed on Jessie's face. "Excellent," she spoke, the single word suddenly making James rethink his assumed poise.

"Why do you ask… exactly?" He asked, and Jessie felt the beginnings of the thrills of triumph seep into her being at the noticeable uncertainty in James' voice.

She paused for a moment, as if intentionally subjecting James to an additional slice of suspense. Her cherry-painted lips finally opened to at last start to answer the question James had been asking himself all day. "You see James… Paramount Corps. has been looking for new ways to… well, 'expand' its earnings. Not surprisingly we've discovered that a successful means of achieving this is by investing in the tourism industry."

James nodded cautiously, indicating that he was at least following her cause thus far.

Jessie continued. "We currently have ownership of several beach resorts, as well as a number of forest getaway lodges. But now…" Jessie appeared almost unable to control the smirk on her face as she carried on with her explanation. "Now we're looking for something a little… _different_. We've actually been conducting some exploration into the area of alpine resorts."

"Alpine resorts…" James repeated after Jessie, trailing off as he drifted into his own train of thought. He still could not understand what this had to do with him. An alarming possibility briefly entered his mind, but he discarded it after quickly affirming the sheer impracticality of the idea.

The woman before him spoke on. "You know. Skiing, snowboarding, toasty open fires in on-site five-star cabins. That sort of thing… And you know what? It seems that your beloved Fieldsville is the perfect location for… well, the perfect alpine resort."

James recoiled at Jessie's sudden mentioning of the very idea he had abandoned as utterly ridiculous only moments ago. He quickly launched into an anxious, yet valid reasoning. "Ah, well… I'm afraid your 'exploration' isn't very thorough, Jessie. The Fieldsville village settlement takes up most of the available construction area in our pocket of the mountain range. You'd have no space to build any of your resort."

Jessie stared down at James. She held that demeaning gaze, and began to speak in such a contentedly wicked tone that it sent chills down James' spine. "Oh, but that is where you are wrong, James. We know very well that the village settlement takes up most of the available construction area. And that's why we're going to demolish it so we'll have all the space that we need."

James felt like a ton of bricks had suddenly fallen down upon him. Did he hear right? Did she just say that her company was going to _demolish_ Fieldsville? _His_ Fieldsville? James felt like things were suddenly spinning very much out of his control.

"What! _Demolish_ Fieldsville!"

Jessie nodded calmly.

"You can't be serious! _Four-hundred people_ live in Fieldsville!" James cried angrily, his voice rising. "There has been no discussion or agreement about this plan with our council. Where can you have gotten permission to bulldoze down an entire town!

Jessie continued to remain unfazed about James' distress over the proposal, nor the supposed immorality of her plan. "Legally, Fieldsville is actually a parish of Saunders City. So really, there was no point in conferring with the Fieldsville Council, because it was just as easy to negotiate with the Saunders City Council. And they've happily agreed to the proposition… of course they're now contracted to receive a portion of financial profit with the construction of the new alpine resort… but that was to be expected."

James fumed. How could Jessie sit there so coolly as if she were talking about a simple matter like the weather? His anger boiled even higher as he realised that the crimson-haired woman openly showed signs of actually _enjoying_ turning so many peoples' lives completely upside-down.

"You _bought _the Saunders City Council over? This is ridiculous!" He struggled to find words powerful enough to stop someone destroying the place he now called home. "Some people have lived their _whole lives_ in Fieldsville! And… and now you're just going to _destroy_ the place? What is going to happen to everyone?" He yelled furiously, yet Jessie did not flinch at all.

She reached back over the desk and retrieved a very large binder. Pulling herself back toward the front of the desk, she handed it to James and began to speak, "You will be able to find all the details in there. I suggest you provide copies of the files within the binder for the other residents of Fieldsville. But basically, the Saunders City Council will provide the families of Fieldsville with a sum of money in exchange for compliancy with our plan… the money should be enough to purchase a modest townhouse or apartment in Saunders City. That said… anyone who is _not_ compliant will have their houses demolished regardless, and will not receive any money."

James looked down at the folder in his hands, dumbfounded. He absentmindedly flicked through it, the figures printed on page after page appearing as nothing but a blurred recipe for utter chaos. He glared back up at Jessie. "What, so we get absolutely _no_ say in this _whatsoever_?"

His ex-colleague shook her head condescendingly in reply, revelling in James' obvious feelings of powerlessness.

"Your money _cannot_ replace our homes!" James exclaimed, "We love where we live, and by destroying four-hundred peoples' houses you are destroying four-hundred peoples' livelihoods as well!"

Jessie sighed. "Well, I'm afraid that's just too bad James – the plans are already well in motion for this resort to go ahead. The demolition is planned to take place in six months time – and if any of your people are still remaining in Fieldsville by then, they'll be levelled along with your precious town."

James gaped at Jessie, disgusted with her obscenely cold-blooded attitude. "Jessie, this is _crazy_! Just _listen_ to yourself! You're booting four-hundred people out of their homes _just_ so your multi-billion dollar company can make a little bit more money! How selfish can you get?"

The woman simply smiled patronisingly at James as if she were listening to the tantrum of a three-year-old child. "Frankly James, I really don't care."

James slammed the binder he had been holding down on the chair beside him, and rose up so that he and Jessie stood facing each other. He roared, "You cannot do this!"

"Oh, but I can," Jessie articulated in a smooth voice that oozed the power that made her statement so very true. "And now, if you don't have any further questions I shall summon Michael to come and accompany you out." She reached behind her to press a button on a small panel on the face of a telephone sitting on her desk.

"-Wait," James pleaded one last time, and Jessie let her hand pause over the button before slowly pulling it away. She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, signalling that she was actually willing to listen to James.

James ran a hand through his lavender hair, inhaling deeply as if trying to calm himself somewhat before making his last plea. "Jessie… this isn't some sort of twisted way of getting back at me for… you know, what happened all those years ago… is it? Because if it is-"

"-Do _not_ flatter yourself by assuming that I am pathetic enough to waste my time on anything that specifically involves _you_," Jessie hissed, stepping up to James so that they stood eye to eye. Her eyes narrowed in a resentful glare. James attempted to hold the glare, knowing that she would only see him as weak if he looked away. Yet as those cold sapphire eyes bore into him, it was not long before he turned his head away in defeat.

Jessie promptly hit the button on the front of her telephone to page Michael, and walked around to sit back in her chair. A few awkward seconds passed before a rapid knock sounded against the outside of the office door.

"Come in Michael," Jessie ordered, and the large oak door swung open, "Please escort Mr. Morgan back to the foyer so that he may leave."

Michael looked to James with a sly grin plastered across his face. "I trust everything went well, Mr. Morgan?"

James shot a foul look at the man before snatching up his binder from the chair where he'd left it. Without another glance at his ex-partner, he stormed out of the door that Michael held open.

Michael winked at Jessie before closing the door, leaving the scarlet-haired woman alone in the office.

Jessie stared tiredly down at her desk. For the first time in a long while, she felt a strange yearning to curl up into a tiny ball and cry.

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Oh yeah! Aha! Alright! Fourth chappie in the bag! Smiley faces all around! Hope everyone liked this instalment… I know that it was a little… uh, tense? But hey – angst and confliction and all that kinda stuff is what makes a great story, right! 

Anyway, please leave me a review on your way out – constructive criticism and suggestions are also welcome! I've got two weeks off school at the moment, so hopefully I'll have the time to write several more chappies very soon!

Just a big thankyou to everyone who has reviewed this ficcie so far! I do love you all so very much! Teehee!

Till Next Time,

BansheeGirl.


	5. A Gentle Word

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
A/N: Wow! Fast update! Thanks for reading this fic, and please leave me a review once you're done! It'll only take a minute or so, and I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

Disclaimer: See chapter 1 or 2 if you're really interested in a disclaimer for this ficcie!

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Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy 

**Chapter 5: A Gentle Word**

"Jessica!" Michael yelled, hailing his boss from across the large reception area. The woman paused in mid-step, peering down from the wide flight of stairs that she had begun to ascend. She waited as her executive assistant wove through the myriad of people sifting in opposite directions through the open floor to catch up with her. As he levelled with Jessie, the pair continued up the flight of stairs to arrive at another area equally as busy as the reception area below.

"I'm glad I caught up with you," Michael started, as he and Jessie slowed to a standstill, "You really need to arrive at your office on time, Jessica."

Jessie rolled her eyes unappreciatively. "I'm sure I can do without your lectures, Michael." Already bored with the blonde-haired man, she gazed away to spot one of the many 'gophers' of the Paramount Corps. of Saunders offices, and quickly called the young boy over. He fumbled with a large stack of loose papers cradled in his arms, and hurried over to hear the woman's requests.

"Yes, Miss Avalon? What can I do for you?" Only about eighteen years old, Jessie remembered the boy as being a relatively new recruit. She fruitlessly tried to recall the boy's name.

"You… what's your name?" She eventually asked, coming to the conclusion that she probably never even made an effort to learn the boy's name in the first place.

The boy looked extremely uncomfortable as he struggled to keep his stack of papers together. "Uh… My name? It's Bernard."

"Right, Bernard. Get me an extra tall latté from downstairs, will you? Two sugars, pronto," Jessie ordered.

"And a cappuccino for me, thanks Bernard," Michael chose to add. Both Michael and Jessie watched as Bernard took an almost stunned moment to process the requests, before nodding and exiting the scene.

Jessie turned back to Michael. "What is it that you wanted me for?"

"Of course," Michael began, remembering why he had needed to see Jessie so urgently. "Were you aware that there's a surveying team heading over to Fieldsville in a helicopter tomorrow?"

"No, I wasn't," Jessie said, frowning disapprovingly.

"It seems that the tourism division working on the Fieldsville project only confirmed the trip yesterday. They contacted me earlier, asking as to whether _you_ perhaps would like to join the surveying team tomorrow."

Jessie sighed. She had been trying to ignore the Fieldsville project ever since her meeting with James the previous week. "I'm sure that there's really no need for me to go. I have far more productive things to be doing here."

"What, like sleeping in and ordering coffee?" Michael retorted, only to instantly receive an evil look from his boss. He pulled up his hands and outstretched them in a stance of surrender. "Look, it's just that you probably need to check out the place and listen to what the surveying team has to say on-site. In any case, you only have that meeting with John Marden tomorrow. I can easily handle that for you, plus any paperwork you were planning on doing."

Jessie eyed her executive assistant. It was a rare thing for Michael to offer to do any of the tedious paperwork that formed one of the unfortunate low points of her occupation. "Fine then, I guess I'll go," she conceded.

"Great. I'll contact the tourism division and let them know."

Jessie nodded and picked up the briefcase she had rested on the floor during her conversation with Michael. "I must head up to my office now, if there's nothing else, Michael."

"Actually, I'm heading that way myself. I'll walk you up there," Michael said, and the pair began moving once again. "I was talking to John Hill yesterday, and discovered some quite amusing information."

Jessie looked to Michael as they walked to see that the man displayed a devilish grin. "John Hill? The mayor of the Saunders City Council?" She asked, her curiosity piqued.

"The one and only. Anyway, it seems that our dear James Morgan decided to pay a visit to the council offices last week after his little encounter here," Michael said, chuckling. Jessie felt an odd sensation at the mentioning of her ex- Team Rocket partner. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to continue listening to this story that Michael seemed so eager to tell of the lavender-haired man.

"Morgan went right off at John. Apparently he was absolutely _livid_. He stormed right into John's private office and was yelling about injustice, corruptness and all that sort of garbage. John just called in the security guards and had the lunatic thrown out," Michael laughed.

Jessie forced an amused smile as the pair stepped into an elevator. Michael continued talking as the doors closed and the small compartment ascended. "The guy was _this close_," he said, lifting his hand to indicate a very small amount between his thumb and index finger, "to getting arrested. Surely that will have taught him a lesson or two." The elevator opened and both Michael and Jessie walked out into a new corridor.

"I'll see you later on, undoubtedly," Michael said, veering off into another corridor as Jessie continued on toward her office. Jessie arrived at the large oak door leading into her office. She flashed an identification card over a small panel near the handle, unlocking the door for the day. Jessie somewhat disliked the security system of her door – dark glass surrounded by an ugly mass of cold metal. It made an awful contrast with the old, beautifully carved wooden door.

Jessie stepped into her office and placed her briefcase on her desk. Looking around, she seemed as if at a loss for what to do. Michael's story about James had brought all that she had been trying to ignore for the past week bubbling back to the surface. She did not know what to think about James' latest escapade at the Saunders City Council offices. She wanted to believe that she wouldn't have cared if James had been thrown in jail, but she couldn't help but feel lost in an increasing turmoil of emotions. She didn't think it could all be simplified down to a mere indifference.

Jessie found herself standing by her wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling window. She stared out over Saunders City below, wishing that she wouldn't have to go through all this again. She had actually believed that James was out of her life for good. Alas, it seemed that this was not the case.

A knock on the door broke Jessie from her gaze. "Who is it?" She hollered, somewhat tiredly. She had forgotten how draining such emotional conflicts could be.

"It's Bernard, Miss Avalon," came a timid voice from behind the door, "I have your latté."

"Come in," Jessie replied, thankful for the arrival of much-needed caffeine. Bernard tentatively opened the door and crept in. He joined Jessie by the window, handing her the extra tall latté she had ordered.

"I also have this… for you," Bernard said, holding out a document encased in a transparent pink plastic slip. "It's from Ms. Parker. She told me that it's the file you requested concerning the Silvertop Mining Company."

Jessie took the file from Bernard. "Yes… thankyou," she said, recognising the file Bernard spoke of. She was not surprised that Ruth Parker had asked the young gopher to deliver the file – she and Ruth had never gotten along too well. Jessie had always considered Ruth too spineless to be working in such an industry, and did not hesitate in telling her so whenever the two happened to engage in an argument. Ruth had always disapproved of the often 'heartless' and even greedy ways in which Jessie tended to handle matters, opting herself to deal with things in a fair and equal manner. Needless to say the two women were at opposite poles concerning the purchase of the Silvertop Mining Company.

Jessie clutched the file to her chest, and took a slow sip from the polystyrene cup containing her coffee. She again stared out the window as if lost in some trance, while Bernard stood awkwardly beside her. The young boy shifted from foot to foot, wondering whether to say anything to the woman before him.

"Uh… Miss Avalon? Do you need me for anything else?" He finally articulated, immediately thinking that that was possibly the stupidest thing he could have said to such a figure of power.

The crimson-haired woman turned to Bernard. She looked vaguely surprised, as if she hadn't even realised that the boy was still standing there.

"Hnm? Oh, yes. You may go," she murmured, before looking back out of the expanse of glass. Bernard frowned, puzzled by the chief executive officer's behaviour. He silently began his retreat from the room, yet upon reaching the door impulsively decided to ask the woman one last question.

"Miss Avalon? Are… you okay?"

Jessie quickly glanced at Bernard, and it was a long while before she spoke. "Yes, thankyou. I'm fine." With that her sea-blue eyes seemed to gain some of their clarity again, and for a brief moment Bernard swore he could have seen a genuine smile flicker across the woman's face. He cautiously smiled himself, before closing himself out of the office.

Bernard looked up and down the corridor he was now in, almost stupefied. Heading in the direction that lead towards the elevator, he replayed the last few minutes over and over again in his head. As a lowly gopher Bernard heard much office gossip and banter as he ran about his daily errands amongst the many levels of the Paramount Corps. of Saunders agency. Among all that he had heard of the twenty-five year old CEO, nothing had prepared him for what he had just witnessed in her office. Bernard had expected a rude, demanding, unfriendly and selfish character of Jessica Avalon. In that room alone with her, he had seen nothing more than an infinitely mysterious, damaged individual.

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Chapter 5… finished! Oh wow, I only posted chapter 4 yesterday… how extremely out-of-character for me! Anyway, I hope people out there are appreciating this prompt update! I am sacrificing valuable homework time to serve the people! Eh, writing fanfiction is a whole lot more fun than doing homework anyway! What am I talking about… I love serving the people! – insert Mexican wave here – 

Well, I really hope everyone's enjoying this ficcie so far… I know it may seem a little slow at the moment, but I promise there will be a lot more action very soon!

And before I leave, let me just say… please give me lots and lots of reviews! I need them oh so very much! You'll make my day! My week! My month, even!

On that note, thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! Yay!

(Is it just me or do I seem to use a WHOLE lotta exclamation marks in my author's notes?)

Well, till next time!

BansheeGirl.


	6. A Woman Scorned

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

**Written by BansheeGirl**

**A/N:** Chapter six, served just for you! Do enjoy, and don't forget to leave a tip – uh, I mean review – when you're done!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

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**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

Chapter 6: A Woman Scorned

"Well _that_ certainly was an interesting couple of hours," an elderly woman murmured to herself, quickly bustling about in a large kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, she pulled out a container of brownies that she'd only baked that afternoon. The time was currently nearing twelve o'clock, and the woman was thankful that she'd thought to bake the now much-needed treats earlier. Quickly the woman dished several of the brownies onto a large round plate. Swooping the plate up, she left the kitchen to enter an adjoining dining room, where a number of people sat around a rectangular table looking rather tired.

"Oh, thanks Mary. Just what we needed," said a blonde-haired lady as Mary placed the plate of brownies in the centre of the table. Several hands instantly shot out to claim a piece of the moist chocolate slice. Mary sat herself down in an empty chair at one end of the rectangular table. Sitting directly across from her at the other head of the table was Mary's husband, Ian.

Mary and Ian Brandybuck were the owners of the Fieldsville Lodging House – consequently the place where the small group of people were gathered this late evening. The other congregation members were the Lodging House's current permanent residents. The House also often served as temporary accommodation for visitors to Fieldsville, but those sitting around the dining room table this moment were the group of people who formed a sort of family as they indefinitely called the lodging house their home.

Mary looked around the table, stopping short at the sight of a man looking markedly more drained than the others around him. She pushed the now almost empty plate of brownies toward him. "Go on and have a brownie, James. You look like you need it," she said warmly.

The man's piercing green eyes looked up at the elderly woman, focusing as if he had just been pulled from a daze. He sighed tiredly. "No thanks Mary, I'm not feeling very hungry."

Mary tilted her head sceptically. "James, don't get yourself down about this. We have to stay positive, you know that."

"I know, I know…" He said, running a hand through his lavender locks. "I'm just… I feel like I'm letting everyone down. You saw them all at the meeting…" His voice drifted off as James closed his eyes and frowned.

The blonde-haired lady whom had spoken before looked at James sympathetically. "James, you can't blame yourself for this. You had a big enough burden tonight just telling everyone the news…" She winced at the memory of several villagers reacting rather irately to the news that Fieldsville would be demolished in six months' time. She knew James to be a normally calm and collected person, but the incidents at the town meeting earlier that evening had certainly placed a great degree of stress upon the head councilman of Fieldsville.

The lady – Cate was her name – absentmindedly turned the golden wedding ring of her late husband around on her finger. As a single mother with two children under the age of twelve, she was one who had lost a deal of sleep since James had privately told the Lodging House residents Paramount Corps. horrible plans upon returning from Saunders City a few days ago.

"I'll blame myself for letting this go ahead, Cate. If I don't find away to stop this… this…" James faltered, struggling to find a word that would rightly describe the situation.

"…Madness?" A man offered, who sat across from James. His boyish features somehow twisted into a morbid smirk. Despite being two years older than James, the pair had become extremely close friends since arriving to stay at the Lodging House around the same time a number of years earlier.

"Madness. Thanks, Sam," James sighed, somewhat of a smile appearing on his face at the ludicrousness of the word, and yet the perfect aptness of it. "If I don't find a way to stop this madness… I could never live with myself."

Silence fell upon the group, each person inwardly trying to fathom just how their whole worlds had been turned completely upside down.

"I just don't see how this… _woman_ can simply come in and do whatever she wants, no questions asked!" A girl with long, jet-black hair suddenly cried. "How is it legally possible to throw four-hundred people out of their homes _and _their jobs!

"You are right, Olivia," Sam said, tweaking his auburn-coloured goatee. "There _has_ to be _some_ loophole somewhere in these proceedings. The problem is getting anyone to take note of the loophole, and then getting someone to do something about it."

Sam's words seemed to bring about another sensation of hopelessness in the group. James stared at a small piece of paper that he had been scrunching and un-scrunching in his fingers. He frowned at the odd sense of uncomfortableness that he felt when Olivia had directly blamed the predicament on 'this _woman_' – Jessie. He had not told his peers of his past association with the CEO of Paramount Corps. of Saunders, and for the moment chose to keep it that way.

"Maybe we should hold another town meeting," Cate finally said. "Ask for ideas, areas of expertise… There's sure to be people with friends and family members who might be able to help us out, right?"

James looked to Cate with an unenthusiastic expression. "You were there tonight, Cate… You saw how everyone reacted when I told them about the plans. The only idea the people of this town have is to storm into Saunders City and burn Paramount Corps. to the ground," he said matter-of-factly.

"Doesn't sound like such a bad idea to me," Ian mumbled, eliciting a few stunned laughs from the others. As the laughter subsided, however, a disillusioned emptiness once again took over the room.

Olivia sighed loudly. "It just makes me so mad…" She murmured, some of the fury from before having left her voice.

"It makes all of us mad," James said quietly, "But we've got to think of some logical way to combat this. We've somehow got to get over being so angry so that we can just think _straight_," he spoke, almost more to himself than the others. An embarrassing memory of his enraged visit to the Saunders City Council offices the previous week entered his mind, before he quickly discarded it.

The group sat in silence. Thoughts of anger, hopelessness, misery and desperation screamed through their heads.

"We could… use the media," Sam finally suggested. The immediate spark in his eyes suddenly made everyone around the table sit up in their chairs.

"The media? What do you mean?"

"Well," he began, his eyes darting about excitedly as if he were already forming an intricate scheme in his head, "We could contact some of the big Saunders City newspapers and magazines. I have some connections through work… If we pique their interest, they'll be able to publicise our situation. The newspapers _love_ underdog stories!" Sam cried, beaming eagerly. Everyone was suddenly very thankful they had a university-trained journalist on the scene.

Sam's eyes widened as though he were still realising the true magnitude of his idea. "The _whole_ of Saunders City will know just how rotten this Paramount Corps. company really is... even surrounding cities and towns will know – Saunders sends hundreds of different publications out across the country! No company wants bad publicity, so Paramount Corps. will _have_ to cancel their construction here… otherwise they'll be _ruined_!"

The orange-haired man watched as expressions of hope began to appear on the faces of those around him. James laughed incredulously.

"That is the best thing I've heard all week, Sam. You really do surprise me sometimes, you know that?"

"Hey, watch it!" Sam defended, pushing himself up from his chair and disappearing for a moment to take the empty brownies-plate to the kitchen.

"You really think people will be interested in some tiny little village in the mountains?" Olivia loudly directed to an unseen Sam.

Sam returned to stand behind his chair at the dining table. "Sure, I don't see why not."

With that, the late-night conversation appeared to be drawing its close. "This is good," James said, standing up. "At least we have some sort of plan in motion…" He sighed as though at least some weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Now he merely looked more exhausted than ever.

"Plan or no plan everyone here needs to get to bed," Mary announced, typical of her motherly character. Before long she had ushered everyone out of their seats, and the group began to disappear upstairs for some much-needed sleep.

"What do you think you're doing, young James?" The elderly woman questioned accusingly as she saw him not move upstairs, but toward the living room at the front of the lodging house.

James looked to his old friend and smiled weakly. "I'm just going to stoke the fire, okay?"

Mary gave a sceptical look, but understood that the lavender-haired man needed to be alone for some time before hitting the hay. "Don't stay up too late, James. If anyone needs sleep here the most it's you."

He nodded, and Mary flicked off the lights in the kitchen and dining room before too disappearing upstairs. James entered the living room and sat beside the fire, watching red-hot ash explode in all directions as he loaded the open fireplace with a couple of fresh logs. He stared into the crackling flames, trying to empty his mind of all thought so that he'd be able to relax and perhaps have a good night's sleep for the first time since his meeting in Saunders City the week before.

James glanced to the right to see a figure suddenly appear at the arched entrance to the living room, and as it crept closer the glow of the fire revealed the dark hair, creamy white skin and intense violet-coloured eyes of Olivia. She silently sat down beside James and smiled at him. James turned his head to look back into the fire, feeling uncomfortable at having his solitude disturbed.

"Hey," she whispered, leaning in closer so that he looked at her. "What's the matter?"

James stared at Olivia, unusually feeling repulsed by her closeness. "Nothing," he said quietly, "I'm just thinking."

"Thinking about what?" The girl asked, tenderly placing a hand just above James' knee. "You're not worrying about the town, are you? We've got a plan for that, remember?"

James looked down at Olivia's hand. "Liv, don't…" He started, gripping her arm to remove her touch. "Just… don't."

A confused expression appeared on the girl's face. In reality Olivia was only a couple of months younger than James, yet as he examined her now in the firelight he could have sworn she looked nothing more than a child.

"James… I thought that we had sorted this out. Hadn't we? I… I thought we were going to give this another try," she said comfortingly, reaching up and brushing a lock of hair behind James' ear.

"Olivia, stop. This… I don't want this right now. I'm not sure if I want it at all." He glanced at the girl, holding her gaze so that she didn't make any unwanted movements again.

"What?" She said, her voice indicating that she was somewhat upset, "_You said_ that-"

"-I know what I said. But… right now that's not how I feel," he spoke, pushing himself up from the floor. "I'm sorry, Liv."

Olivia looked at James as though he had just kicked dirt in her face, and he instantly hated himself for adding yet another dilemma to the melting pot of predicaments he was already in. Olivia stood up and gave one last hurt glance at James, before turning on her heel and leaving the room. He listened as her angry footsteps ascended the hardwood stairs.

James leant against the mantelpiece above the fireplace, his head spinning. Only two weeks ago James had been more than eager to revive a relationship that had been over for almost a year with Olivia. Yet something that had happened during those two weeks now prevented him from even thinking about any sort of romantic affair with the raven-haired girl.

James suddenly felt sick with an unwanted realisation. The demolition of Fieldsville was one thing that had been playing in James' mind ever since his meeting in Saunders City. Now he and the lodging house residents had devised a plan to stop the demolition of Fieldsville. That left only one other thing that had been playing on his mind ever since his meeting in Saunders City…

Jessie.

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Wow, that was quite a long chapter for this story! Hope nobody minds the extended length, but I really didn't feel that I could break this particular sequence up into separate chapters. 

Anyway, I'll keep this author's note short so you don't have to put up with any more of my rambling! Just a big thankyou to everyone who keeps reviewing this fic – you know who you are!

Please do review this chapter – reviews do mean ever-so-much to me! Not to mention prompt faster updates!

Well, till next time!

BansheeGirl.


	7. What Goes Up

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
A/N: It cannot be! Another relatively fast update for BansheeGirl? WHAT is this world coming to? Well, you guys better appreciate it, 'cos I stayed up until all hours of the night finishing this chapter! So _please_ don't forget to leave reviews when you've finished reading… they shall compensate for my lack of precious sleep!

Disclaimer: See chapter 1 or 2!

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Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 7: What Goes Up**

Michael reached the top of a flight of cold stone stairs, and swung a large metal door wide open for the woman behind him to walk through. Jessie stepped out onto the roof of the skyscraper that devoted a great many of its floors to the Paramount Corps. of Saunders offices, and instantly shaded her eyes from the sun's noon glare. She peered across the cement roof to see a sleek helicopter stationed on the scraper's helipad, its rotor blades still spinning since landing only moments ago. The blonde executive assistant shut the door behind them and the pair walked swiftly over.

Jessie and Michael slowed as they closed the distance between them and a woman and man waiting beside the helicopter.

"Brendan, Bella… how are you?" Michael enquired in the deceptively friendly voice that Jessie had become so familiar with. Without waiting to hear the man and woman's answers, Michael turned to Jessie and began to introduce the pair. "Jessica, this is Brendan Middleton – an engineer from the tourism division."

Jessie extended her hand to the tall, well-built male. She smiled politely as he firmly shook her hand and offered a well-mannered greeting.

"And this," Michael continued, indicating the woman standing rigidly beside Brendan, "Is Bella Fanning. She's an architect also from the tourism division. They'll both be accompanying you on the surveying expedition today."

Jessie shook Bella's hand and was surprised to find the woman's grip to be as strong as her male associate's. "A pleasure to meet you both," she announced in a businesslike manner. She found it strange that neither of the pair looked familiar to her. Though Jessie never made a point of remembering the names of the more insignificant workers of Paramount Corps., it was not like her to forget a face – even if it was only one she saw fleetingly in the corridors of the offices.

"The pleasure is ours," both Brendan and Bella voiced in an uncanny unison.

Jessie eyed the attire of the couple before her. While she had arrived at the helicopter in her usual business shirt, suit-jacket and matching above-the-knee skirt, Brendan and Bella both donned thick, wool-lined jackets and waterproof ski pants. Jessie glanced at their sturdy-looking lace-up boots, and then warily down at the stilettos she wore.

"I was not told to come dressed in any such appropriate way," she exclaimed rather crossly, directing her accusation for the most part toward her executive assistant.

Michael's face faltered, before quickly opening his mouth to speak. He was interrupted, however, by Brendan, who extended his arm to turn Jessie to face the helicopter. "That is no problem at all, Miss Avalon. There will be adequate clothing available in Fieldsville to keep you warm during our surveillance of the area."

The burgundy-haired woman raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "I expect a much higher degree of organisation from Paramount Corps.' employees. _Especially _considering your request for _me_ to accompany you today," she condemned, expressing her extreme annoyance through both her voice and eyes.

"Of course, please forgive us Miss Avalon," Brendan conceded without hesitation. Jessie noted that he did not display the anxiety that most people showed after being chastised by a powerful CEO such as herself. "But we must be going, if you don't mind. We'd appreciate completing the expedition before the afternoon is over," the engineer continued.

"You're right, Brendan," Michael supported, facing Jessie, "Surely you'd like to return before dusk, Jessica?"

Placed in an inarguable situation, Jessie sighed and nodded in agreement. "Let's just hurry up and get this over and done with," she declared. With that the helicopter pilot appeared and opened the door of the craft's rear cabin, signalling for the small group to board. The dark-skinned man stayed silent as he helped Jessie into the cabin, and she rested herself in the seating that faced forward. Brendan and Bella climbed into the cabin effortlessly after her, and both sat opposite Jessie.

"Goodbye, Jessica," came Michael's voice from outside the helicopter, before the pilot firmly shut the rear cabin door. Jessie looked to her executive assistant, but coldly turned her head away without responding to his farewell. She was still annoyed with him for allowing her to turn up looking ridiculous in her business outfit, while Brendan and Bella suitably sported clothing fit for activity in the chill of the mountains.

Jessie listened as the rotor blades began to spin around. With a slight lurch of the stomach the helicopter lifted, and before she knew it they were soaring over Saunders City, Michael standing a mere speck on the skyscraper roof below them. The CEO settled herself into her seat, and peered across at the engineer and architect. While Brendan gazed expressionless out of the window beside him, Jessie disturbingly found Bella staring right at her.

The brunette-haired woman realised that she had been caught eying Jessie, and gave an odd smile before quickly shifting her gaze to look out Brendan's window. Jessie frowned, puzzled by the pair. She had to admit that she was impressed by their professional demeanours, though there was something else in the air about them that Jessie simply couldn't place. She brushed the feeling away, and turned to gaze out of the window closest to her.

Time passed, and Jessie noticed that the chopper had begun to pass over snow-covered terrain. Patches of evergreen trees and frozen lakes passed underneath, and Jessie began to wonder what she was even doing heading out to Fieldsville on this early afternoon. She found the tourism division's request to have her on the surveillance expedition quite strange – she had already seen quite a portion of the area in photographs and sketches. It wasn't as if actually being in the area was going to change her decision to demolish Fieldsville – and that was all she was concerned about at the moment.

The helicopter flew over more of the wintry scene below, and Jessie looked up to see both Brendan and Bella suddenly stand.

"What are you doing?" She asked authoritatively.

Brendan stopped and peered down at her, while Bella disappeared through a tiny entrance into the cockpit without a word. "We're just going to have a talk with the pilot. You stay here," Brendan said, his last words conveyed as a serious command. Jessie's mouth dropped slightly open at the sheer nerve he had to talk to her in such a way, but the man disappeared into the cockpit quickly before she could protest.

The blue-eyed woman was left in the rear cabin alone, and she glanced around furiously. She waited several moments, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. When neither Brendan nor Bella returned from the cockpit, Jessie realised the utter lack of sense that the sudden situation produced. She pushed herself up from her seat to pay her own visit to the cockpit, though was thrown across the cabin when the helicopter suddenly jolted violently forward.

Jessie was flung against the seat that Brendan and Bella had been sitting in, and cracked her head against a protruding metal shaft that ran along the top of the seat. Cursing loudly, she immediately went to clutch her head in pain – though was stopped short when the helicopter jerked sideways, sending her tumbling to the floor to be crushed up against the thankfully securely-closed rear cabin door. Jessie's body very suddenly seized up in panic as the sound of the rotor blades above changed from their comforting whir to an irregular _thud, thud, thud_.

An alarming clunking noise began to reverberate from the front of the helicopter, while the aircraft increasingly continued to spasm in violent jerks, sending Jessie hurling from side to side of the helicopter like a rag doll.

The helicopter was falling.

Jessie cried in pain as she was thrown across the floor into the opposite wall of the cabin, crushing her right arm beneath her. She attempted to stand up, yet the vigorous spinning movements of the helicopter prevented her from getting any further than a kneeling position. She yelped in anguish as she failed to reach out and grasp the corner of the backward-facing seat so that she may hoist herself toward the cockpit entrance, instead losing her bearings and falling back face-first into the cabin door. As indescribable pain shot through her nose and forehead, another surge of panic surged through Jessie's body as she realised that she hadn't even been told where the helicopter's parachutes were located.

In desperation, she screamed. "Help! Somebody, help me! Brendan! Bella! _Where the hell are you_!" She cried, the fear in her voice hair-raising.

Jessie braced herself in the corner of the cabin, pushing one arm and one leg out against the metal wall, and the other arm and leg against the hard frame of the seat she had been sitting on. Then suddenly, she felt the helicopter scrape against some outside surface and Jessie was momentarily airborne before thumping back down upon the cabin floor. Again, the aircraft hit something. The impact flung Jessie once more across the inside of the cabin, and this time she felt pain course through her entire body. All around her she could hear the awful sound of metal scraping against metal, and could feel the helicopter hurtling out of control down some unknown surface. She looked up to see nothing out of the window opposite her but the glare of white, before the glass crunched outward before her very eyes.

Then abruptly something came straight down upon Jessie's head, and everything instantly went black.

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OoooH! Cliffhanger! Haha… well, I told you there'd be a lot more action once I get more into this fic, and here's your first dosing of it! Hope you like! 

As always, PLEASE review this chapter. I get quite distressed when I see that I have _so_ many more hits for this story than I do reviews… why don't people just leave at least a _little_ review for my troubles? It's really easy, honest!

On that note, thankyou to** Tear, Eevee, DynaGurl, craZy18gurl, Stacey, Nikki-Vixen and Wolfkeeper989**, all whom have so wonderfully reviewed this fic so far! Oh, and DynaGurl - I am guessing that you're from the USA? Anyway, wherever you live, 'sceptically' may be spelled with a 'k' there… but here in Australia we spell it with a 'c'! Trust me, my spelling-checker tells me so, and I even looked it up in the dictionary to make sure!

Well, till next time!

BansheeGirl.


	8. The Storm Brews

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

**Written by BansheeGirl**

A/N: Eighth chapter? Yay! I know I left you on a bit of a cliff-hanger before… so here's the next instalment to satisfy you for a little while! As always, do enjoy – and PLEASE review once you're done! Yep… it's that easy!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

Chapter 8: The Storm Brews 

Two sleds dashed across a pristine snow-scape, each led by a pack of four growlithe. At the reins of one sled was Robert Mathison, while another man named Andrew Rahl bridled the other. They were both Pokémon researchers, and long-time residents of the small alpine town of Fieldsville. Strapped onto the front of Robert and Andrew's sleds were assortments of research equipment, plus the log books and notebook computer that the pair had used to record their findings for the day. Particularly important were the intravenous blood samples that the researchers had collected from a pack of swinub in an underground cave. The samples were a request from Nurse Joy of the town's small Pokémon Centre, which the two men generally used at their research laboratory anyway.

Robert wiped a fleck of snow from his goggles, and peered up into the sky to see a mass of ominous-looking clouds beginning to accumulate overhead. Despite being eager to return to Fieldsville before he and his friend were caught in a terrible snowstorm, he was also keen to return to the Pokémon Centre for another reason. Robert looked to Andrew who paced his growlithe a short way behind, and inwardly smiled as he wondered whether his research partner had noticed the increasing amount of time that he and the Pokémon nurse had been spending together.

As Robert averted his gaze to look back in his line of travel, his eyes suddenly caught sight of a peculiar-looking object far away to the right. He slowed his growlithe, and as Andrew acknowledged Robert's actions he too commanded his Pokémon to reduce speed.

"Robert, what's wrong?" Andrew yelled. Robert did not respond; lost as he squinted to try and discern what the object was. Andrew saw that his friend was looking at something in particular, and turned to try and understand why Robert had stopped moving. After a moment of quickly scanning, his eyes too fell upon an unusual black object perched some way up a ridge to the right. He instantly looked to the other man, and their eyes met in an expression of confusion.

"What is it?" Andrew questioned, still yelling so that he could be heard over a mounting wind.

Robert shook his head. "I'm not sure," he replied, and gathered his reins again, "But we'd better go check it out."

The two men guided their team of growlithe toward the ridge away to the right, having to carefully control their movements as they began to tread over land neither had taken a sled over before. They soon closed in on the ridge, and again slowed to a stop. Cold snow crunched under Robert's boot as he stepped off his sled, peering upward to see if he could now make out what the object in question was. Sighing, he looked to Andrew who had also disembarked from his sled.

"We're going to have to get up there by foot," Robert started, "There's no way we'll get the sleds up there."

Andrew nodded, and the men commanded their dog-Pokémon to stay put as they began to climb up the ridge. It was not so steep, though large rocks jutted up out of the uneven snow and large pine trees began to speckle the white-covered earth. It was only a short way up the small rise that the black object suddenly loomed before them, instantly appearing much bigger than they had both first assumed. As Robert and Andrew now faced it, both stopped short in their tracks as the dark figure immediately took form as something neither had expected.

"It's… a helicopter…" Andrew realised out aloud.

Robert slowly advanced on the craft. "You mean _was_ a helicopter," he corrected, "This thing looks like it had a pretty rough landing."

The companions walked closer, looking over the mangled wreckage. It lay partly turned on its side, the complete roll halted seemingly as the crumpled nose of the helicopter had become wedged between two large pines. The top of the helicopter faced them; only one contorted rotor blade remained hanging loosely from it.

"How long has this thing been here?" Andrew wondered, again voicing his thoughts.

"It can't have been more than two or three hours," Robert said, pointing to a set of skid marks stretching all the way up a gentle slope to their right. The missing rotor blade lay twisted in the snow not far up. "That must be where the helicopter slipped down. In this weather the marks wouldn't have lasted a couple more hours."

Andrew looked to Robert, his face aghast. "You don't suppose there's anyone still in there… do you?"

Robert returned an equally unenthusiastic expression. "Well, if there is… I don't think things are going to be very pretty." He inhaled deeply, before moving around to face the underside of the helicopter. He firmly pushed down on one of the metal rails that would normally support the aircraft it were upright. The vehicle seemed stuck in a stable position, and Robert hoisted himself up to balance on the side of the helicopter. He pressed himself against the side window of the cockpit, and felt a wave of relief as he established the front compartment as being completely empty of anyone.

"The cockpit is empty," Robert yelled down to Andrew, who too indicated his relief at this discovery. The researchers didn't particularly feel like dealing with any dead bodies that afternoon.

The pair, however, were not yet asking themselves the question as to where the people who were in the helicopter had disappeared to if they were no longer in the aircraft.

Robert carefully sidled along the edge of the wreck, where he arrived at the rear cabin. The window was completely smashed here, so he was cautious not to cut his hands on the small fragments of glass that still protruded from around the frame as he pulled himself up to look inside.

Robert's eyes focused to the darkness that shrouded the interior of the cabin, before gasping loudly.

"Holy Mother of God…"

Mary looked up as the auburn-haired Sam walked into the Lodging House's kitchen. "Excellent! Another helper," she announced, quickly passing him a vegetable peeler before he could protest. "Peel those potatoes over there, and then you can start on the carrots."

Sam sighed exasperatedly, but upon receiving a reproachful look from Mary he grudgingly took a seat at the kitchen table to begin his work. Picking up a potato, Sam peered around at the other people bustling about the room. Olivia was stirring something in a large pot on the stove. Cate was cutting up some meat, and Ian was washing the dishes. Even Cate's two children – David and Laura – were helping by drying Ian's dishes with a couple of tea-towels.

It appeared that Sam wasn't the only one who had been lured into Mary's dinner-time trap.

"Where's James?" Sam questioned, as he suddenly realised his friend's absence.

"He went out a little while ago," Olivia replied, quickly stealing a taste of the substance that was simmering in her pot. "Apparently the paperwork from The Saunders City Times arrived at his office… Anyway, he needed to get it completed and faxed off before tomorrow."

"Or before this storm cuts out our telephone lines," Ian added in his coarse voice.

Sam looked out of the small kitchen window, noting Ian's words. It did not yet look as though a serious storm would pass through the mountains, yet he had learnt to go by Ian's weather predictions. After living for so long in Fieldsville, the old man had almost become a walking barometer for the place.

Focusing back on his vegetable-peeling, Sam silently laughed. He himself had contacted The Saunders City Times – the city's largest newspaper – that very morning to request the paperwork to file a feature story concerning Paramount Corps.' plan. He knew that the Times was very prompt in responding to such requests, and that the paperwork had probably been sitting in James' office for most of the day. Of course it was a very convenient of the councilman to have chosen to make the trip there precisely when dinner preparation began. Sam made a mental-note to make sure that James received washing-up duty when dinner had finished.

The sound of the doorbell ringing suddenly reverberated throughout the house.

"I'll get it!" Sam said, jumping up hastily – obviously eager for any excuse to get out of peeling vegetables.

He made his way out of the kitchen and into the lower-storey passage, which eventually merged into an entrance hall. He contemplated hugging whoever was at the door for the sheer reason that he or she had given him reason to escape the kitchen. Yet when Sam finally opened the front door any notion of hugging the person in front of him abandoned his mind very quickly.

Before Sam stood Robert Mathison and Andrew Rahl – the Pokémon researchers from the Fieldsville Pokémon Centre. And lying in Robert's arms was an awfully battered, unconscious woman.

* * *

Okay… so that chapter probably didn't answer as many questions as you would have liked! But don't worry! Everything will come in its own good time!

Unfortunately I return to school from two weeks' holidays this week… meaning that I probably will not be able to continue to produce these hideously fast updates (for me, anyway!)! I am sorry! But do not fear, I shall try and get another chapter out _relatively_ soon… hey, it's not my fault! Blame my slave-driving teachers!

Well, thanks again to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It's nice to see that I've got quite a few regular reviewers… but it'd still be good to see some new people on the reviewing scene! I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

Well… Till Next Time!

BansheeGirl.


	9. A Warning Sign

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

**Written by BansheeGirl**

A/N: Oh. My. Goodness. I'm updating! I'm really updating! Who would have honestly thought such a thing possible? I hope you guys appreciate this – miracles aren't easy to conjure, you know! As always, please review when you're done reading! Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

Chapter 9: A Warning Sign 

"Robert… what… what's going on?" Sam stammered, his face paling as he took in the sight of the unconscious woman in Robert's arms. "Wh-Who is this?"

Robert held a grim expression. Behind him Andrew displayed a similar air, and neither answered Sam's question. Instead, Robert awkwardly shifted the woman in his arms.

"Sam, can you please just let us in?" Andrew prompted in a drained voice. Sam noticed he had a rather nasty gash across his right shoulder.

Sam suddenly looked surprisedly at the pair before him, as if he had only just realised they were standing out on the Lodge's cold front doorstep. He quickly stood aside so they could enter. Shutting the door behind him, he looked around to see Mary, Ian, Olivia and Cate emerge into the entrance hall. The same looks of bewilderment mixed with unease transformed on their faces, and the room remained silent for a few tense moments.

"What… where did you find her? What's happened to her?" Olivia finally implored in a worried tone. She hurried over and began to examine the unconscious woman as Robert continued to cradle her. Olivia gently turned the woman's head from side to side, and went on to pull open her eyelids. Letting them close, Olivia looked up to Robert.

"Bring her upstairs. I've got my things up there and I'll give her a proper check-over," she said determinedly, and turned on her heel to lead the way up the staircase to the group's side.

Robert immediately followed, closely tailed by Andrew. Without question Sam, Mary, Ian and Cate made their way up the stairs as well. As Robert laid the woman on a single bed in a spare bedroom, the Lodging House residents looked to the Pokémon researchers with searching expressions while Olivia quickly ducked out of sight to fetch her medical kit.

"What is this, Robert? Andrew?" Mary uttered in a quiet voice.

Robert ran a hand through his ruffled hair. "There was… a helicopter wreck. East of town. Must have crashed, geez… no earlier than noon today," he said, looking to Andrew, who nodded in confirmation.

Olivia silently re-entered the room carrying a large carry-case, flicked it open and swiftly began a medical examination of the unconscious woman.

The group of people watched Olivia for a few moments, before the Lodge residents again turned to Robert and Andrew.

"The helicopter was a mess. It was no easy task getting her out of it, let me tell you now," Robert said, his eyes momentarily flickering towards Andrew's injured shoulder. "There was no one else in the craft. Just her, in the rear cabin."

This statement appeared to trouble Robert, and as the others considered it they too seemed perturbed by such an occurrence. _What was this woman doing flying in a helicopter all alone in the mountains, much less in the rear cabin at the time of impact?_

"Has she lapsed into consciousness at any time?" Olivia asked, peering into the each of the woman's deep blue eyes with a thin, silver torch.

Robert turned to the dark-haired girl. "Yeah… She was mumbling… You know, asking us what was happening… That was back when we were strapping her onto my sled to bring her here. She seemed pretty disoriented, though."

Olivia nodded in understanding. She had more knowledge and experience than most nurses of her age normally would, but that came with living in such a small and isolated village. With only one doctor and one other nurse, the Fieldsville medical team were often required to take on great responsibility, and make swift, resourceful and often life-or-death judgements. Luckily this didn't appear to be one of those life-or-death situations.

"She's not seriously hurt," Olivia announced, and the group of people standing around the room let out sighs of relief. Robert and Andrew particularly seemed to gain some colour. "She's just concussed. She needs to sleep. It's just lucky you two found her when you did; she was at most risk of dying of hyperthermia than anything else." As Olivia said this she pulled the bedcovers out from underneath the woman and pulled them over her inanimate form.

Everyone stood around the bed awkwardly for some time, before Mary suddenly clapped her hands together, making each person jump slightly.

"Good, good. Now let's all give the poor girl some space," she said, motioning for everyone to leave the room. She herself left to fetch some warm water and a sponge to give the sleeping stranger a wash-over. When Mary returned, only Olivia and Andrew remained in the room with the woman. Olivia was tending to the wound on Andrew's shoulder.

Bending down beside the bed, Mary wet her sponge and began to wipe grime, sweat and blood from the woman's pale face. Mary looked down at the tattered business outfit that the girl was wearing, and was again at a loss for who this woman was and why she was here.

"Olivia," Mary said, when the young nurse had finished with Andrew's shoulder, "do you have an old nightdress that we can slip her into?"

Olivia looked concernedly at the scarlet-haired woman, and then to Mary. "Yes, of course. I'll need to dress all of her cuts and abrasions, first. Then I'll get something for her."

Mary watched Olivia as she began to tend to a small gash across the woman's forehead, before continuing to sponge down the girl's body. She sighed. Something told Mary that this was only the beginning of a very big ordeal.

Downstairs, Sam, Ian, Cate, Robert and Andrew stood in the entrance hall talking nervously.

"Something's not right here, and we all know it," Cate stated. "Why…?" she began, yet did not know how to finish her question. The problem was that there were too many, and none of them could even start to be answered until the woman upstairs came around.

Andrew looked to his research partner with a sudden pained look on his face. "The equipment… We have to go get it. If we leave it out for the storm, we'll never see any of it again," he said.

Sam, Ian and Cate each frowned in confusion, not understanding what Andrew was talking about.

Robert too dawned a stressed expression. Seeing the others' faces, he explained. "We had to leave some of our equipment back at the helicopter wreckage so that we could fit the girl on my sled. Some of it is quite valuable…" He looked to Andrew, and they both sighed with the knowledge that after all they had already been through that evening, they had to go back into the snow to retrieve their belongings.

"We better get going," Robert said. "I'm glad we could get her to you on time. Thank Olivia for us, will you? Perhaps we'll be around in the morning to see how everyone's doing."

"Wait," Sam said suddenly, as Ian and Cate walked toward the front door to see Robert and Andrew off. The four turned to see Sam pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, eyes closed and obviously deep in thought.

"What is it, Sam?"

Sam's eyes fluttered open. "Cate spoke true before. Something is just… not right. We need to find out what that is."

It was now Robert, Andrew, and again Cate and Ian's turn to look confused.

"Why was this woman _alone_ in that helicopter? Were there footprints leading away from the wreckage? Any evidence of others who might've been in the helicopter?" Sam questioned, looking at the Pokémon researchers.

"Not that we saw… But then again… we didn't really look for footprints, or anything. Once we found the girl it was… well, it was just a mad scramble to get her outta there," Andrew replied.

"Then you've got to have a good look around when you go back for your equipment. With this blizzard coming in, it may be the only chance we have of finding any clues as to what happened to our mystery woman. Because there's a possibility that even _she_ won't be able to tell us anything when she wakes up.

"Get some other men to head out with you. Like Joey Whelan," Sam said, referring to the village mechanic, "He might be able to see whether the crash was caused by a mechanical problem, you know? And Ted Drake – he's a computer genius. He might be able to check whether there was a malfunction in the electronics."

Both Robert and Andrew nodded, catching onto Sam's plan immediately. "Yes," Robert agreed, "Yes, that's a good idea. It won't take long to round up a few people. But we really have to move now."

Andrew opened the front door; the pair stepped into the chill outside.

"We'll call back in here once we return," yelled Robert as they retreated towards their parked sleds. Sam closed the door when he could no longer see Robert and Andrew along the snowy street. With the cold shut out, he looked to Ian and Cate, who remained in the entrance hall.

"Perhaps we should get back to cooking dinner," Ian finally said. It was only then brought back to Sam's attention that they had all been preparing dinner before the evening's commotion. Cate quickly nodded, and she and the elderly man turned to head back into the kitchen.

For the first time in his life, Sam willingly joined in with the evening meal's preparation. Indeed, he was relieved to do something that would keep his mind occupied on something other than the disturbing implications of the night's events, and what sort of news Robert and Andrew would bring with them when they returned.

* * *

And that's the end of that little chappie! Gee… I honestly didn't know if I'd ever get back to writing this fic. Even now, I'm surprised I had the motivation to write the ninth chapter. I don't know… It's not that I've got writer's block or anything, it's just… Well, you know. Sometimes you just lose passion for these things. I'm not sure if I'll continue after this, I guess I'll just wait and see if anyone's still interested in the story.

So… till next time. Maybe!

BansheeGirl.


	10. Some Secrets Revealed

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

**Written by BansheeGirl**

A/N: She lives! BansheeGirl returns from the dead to bring you the latest chapter of her regretfully-slow-moving _Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy_! Be happy! Yay! Read on, and don't forget to review once you've finished!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

Chapter 10: Some Secrets Revealed 

James suddenly found himself in the Lodging House's living room, and distractedly made his way over to slide into an armchair by the fireplace. His head spun with the information that Sam and Olivia had just delivered him, and the image of a certain crimson-haired woman lying unconscious in a bed upstairs. Without another given second to collect his thoughts, Sam and Olivia stumbled into the living room as he had done only moments before.

"James!" Oliva cried, hurrying over to stand before James. "Just what on Earth was that all about!" She said, her tone conveying a mixture of both concern and annoyance.

James looked up at Olivia, but instead of answering the woman's question he stared vaguely as if peering right through her. Olivia shot an anxious look at Sam, who shrugged in reply. Before Olivia could press James again, however, another person made an exasperated entrance.

"What is all this ruckus?" Mary questioned loudly, her eyes searching the three people stationed near the fireplace. Her expression softened as if a thought seemingly only just occurred to her. "Nothing's happened to the girl, has it?"

Olivia placed her hands upon her hips. "No, but James just almost _fainted_ at the sight of our mystery-woman! And then he practically fell over himself to get out of the room!"

"I just needed some air," James quickly interjected, apparently coming out of his daze, "That's all."

Mary, Sam and Olivia looked to James, whom had turned away to stare into the fire. The three exchanged confused looks, and Mary joined the group by the warmth of the flames.

"James… she's going to be fine, if that's what you're worried about. Olivia made sure she wasn't seriously harmed," said Mary in a motherly voice. She gently patted James on the shoulder. "It's okay, James. We were all shocked when Robert and Andrew arrived with her."

James shut his eyes for a few moments, leaving the others to continue to worry about the welfare of their friend. When he opened his eyes there was a sudden clarity about them, and he inhaled a deep breath before looking to Sam.

"When did Robert and Andrew leave for the wreckage?" He asked.

Sam looked to his watch. "About two hours ago. They really should be back any time now…" he said, a look of panic swiftly flickering across his face, "Wait… you're not thinking of going out there to join them, are you?"

James had stood up from his armchair and begun pacing around the room, and quickly turned to Michael with a frown. "No! Of course not. I just… Before – you said she was _alone_? The woman?"

Sam's brow creased, the auburn-haired man unsure as to where James was leading. "Yeah… that's what Robert and Andrew told us."

James looked deep in thought, and resumed his pacing of the room. After not speaking for several minutes, Olivia jumped to question him again.

"James… what's going on?"

Stopping short, James sighed and ran a hand through his lavender hair.

"It's Jessica Avalon," he said, rather abruptly.

A stunned silence followed; the announcement having caught the others somewhat off-guard. As they took some time to digest the three words James had uttered, the group was suddenly joined by Ian and Cate.

"I've just put the kids to bed, so…" Cate began, but her voice dissolved as both she and Ian noted that Mary, Sam and Olivia were each looking extremely aghast.

"What is it?" Ian said quickly, his gruff voice somehow penetrating the bubble of silence that had encapsulated the others.

"The woman upstairs," James finally said, feeling it his responsibility, "is Jessica Avalon. The CEO of Paramount Corps. of Saunders."

The same wave of shock hit Ian and Cate, and it was another few moments before anyone knew what to say.

"This is… a surprise. To say the least…" Cate said in a half-whisper, drifting over to sit beside Oliva on an oak settee upholstered with red velvet. Upon this everyone seemed to follow suit, falling down into armchairs and couches and wondering just what this revelation meant.

"So, let me get this straight…" Sam began, "The woman who so maliciously wants to destroy our town… is upstairs sleeping in one of _our _beds? Receiving _our _hospitality? Does… anyone else have a slight problem with this?"

"We can hardly throw her out in the snow to die, now can we?" Olivia retorted. "But I can't say that I'm… _comfortable_ with the situation."

"I understand you completely," said Cate. "I mean… what do we do when she wakes up? Just let her go? Or hold the woman hostage until she swears to withdraw her plans?"

The howling winds outside suddenly seemed all the more louder as silence fell upon the room again.

"What do you think, James?" said Mary, having noticed that the head councilman of the town had not spoken in some time.

The group all directed their attention to James, who was sitting back in the armchair by the fire. He sighed, feeling the time was somehow fitting to let the Lodging House residents – his friends – in on another piece of information.

"This girl… Jessica Avalon. Last week, when I went to Saunders City – well, it wasn't the first time I've met her." James paused, wondering how to quite word what was left to be said. The group around him waited in anxious anticipation for him to finish. "Jessica Avalon and I used to work together, back when I was in Team Rocket. We were partners. We were actually… quite good friends." James made this last comment with a frown upon his face, as if he himself could not exactly work out how he and the woman upstairs had ever been so close.

"_What_? You were _friends_ with that madwoman?" Sam cried. His face contorted into an expression of repulsion. "And now what? Don't tell me you want to defend her!" He scowled with a venom that made several people in the room turn their heads to look at Sam in surprise.

"I never said that, Sam!" James replied, a hurt look flickering across his features. "Have I been acting like I'm on her side this past week? I am _just_ as adverse to Jessica Avalon's actions as you are!"

Sam eyed James sceptically, who himself returned a challenging glare. Finally Sam looked away, and James turned back to stare into the fire.

"…Why didn't you tell us this before, James?" came Olivia's voice in a quiet tone.

James picked at a loose thread on the arm of his chair. "Does it make a difference? Our past obviously has no effect on her decision to demolish Fieldsville."

He peered up at the group seated in the living room and while Sam still looked unhappy about Jessie's presence within the Lodging House, the others at least appeared content with allowing her some hospitality. James caught Olivia and Mary exchange a strange look, but before he could try to interpret it the noise of the front doorbell ringing resounded throughout the house.

Robert and Andrew had returned.

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Yayness! The completion of the tenth chapter… oh, and there's still so much to go! As you may have guessed I have decided to finish this fic, mostly due to my obsessive compulsiveness to finish everything that I start! I know there's nothing more annoying than finding a fic you're really interested in, only to find it abandoned! But thanks so much to everyone who _has_ taken interest in this fic, and did actually want me to continue! I'm really glad some people are appreciating this! So thanks to **craZy18gurl, Tear, Stacey, Nikki-Vixen, Kojiro-san Lover and Eevee**, you are all super-awesome (just for you, Tear!)

Am on holidays at the moment, so, while I should be burying myself in revision for exams, it's likely that I'll get another chapter or two out very soon. Keep an eye out!

Till Next Time!

BansheeGirl.


	11. Not So Innocent

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy **

**Written by BansheeGirl**

A/N: Yay! Updatedness! (That's right, Saffron-Starlight, I've stolen you word!) Thanks for reading this far into my fanfic – I hope everyone's enjoying this! Please leave a review with your thoughts, comments, questions or suggestions when you're done reading this chappie! And now… on with the show!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

Chapter 11: Not So Innocent 

The living room of the Fieldsville Lodging House was by all means big enough to accommodate a large number of people at any one time. An assortment of mismatched armchairs and couches had always provided enough sitting space, even on the rare occasions when the Lodging House was full for the night. Yet as Robert Mathison and Andrew Rahl settled themselves amongst Mary and Ian's permanent residents, along with four other men dressed in bulging snow suits, James had the oppressive sensation that this living room had suddenly shrunk very much in size.

Robert, Andrew and their team looked around at their hosts uncomfortably. They had been forbidden to begin the telling of their findings at the helicopter crash-site until Mary returned from the kitchen with some hot tea. While the men had insisted such hospitality was not necessary at this hour of the night, Mary had been adamant that they had something to 'warm their insides' after being out in the still-growing snowstorm. So now the team of six sat awkwardly, clearly wanting to relay their discoveries as soon as possible so as to perhaps go home to their own beds and be rid of the ordeal they had somehow found themselves in.

Mary re-entered the living room a short time later carrying a tray supporting a steaming pot of tea, several mugs and even a freshly cut loaf of fruitcake. The six weathered-looking men accepted the sustenance without complaint, despite their earlier arguments. As everyone was finally seated, James took it upon himself to open the impending discussion.

"So… let's get straight to it. What did you guys find out there?"

Robert held his hand up to stop any of the other men talking, and opened his mouth to speak before anything else was said. "Actually, wait. Before we start – how is the mystery-girl?"

James instinctively glanced toward Sam. His auburn-haired friend returned a disapproving look, but did not appear as though he was going to reveal to their guests the identity of 'the mystery-girl'. James knew that Sam undoubtedly had a burning desire to announce the sham that they were saving the ass of their own undoer, and was inwardly thankful that Sam was at least extending him this courtesy of remaining quiet.

"She's still doing okay," James said.

Robert nodded, and took a sip from his tea. "Good. I'll begin then," he said. He looked increasingly uncomfortable in his wet, puffy snow-gear, though took a deep breath to begin to recount the group's findings. "Right then. Well… luckily we made it to the crash-site a good while before the storm really set in. We were able to scout around for footprints leading away from the wreck, but there was nothing. Just mine and Andrew's prints from earlier today.

"We didn't find anything outside, but we made a few… _interesting_… discoveries inside the chopper," Robert said, exchanging glances with Andrew and the other men. "For one, we managed to get into the cockpit and found the parachute compartment completely _empty_. We all agreed this was suspicious in itself – who flies a helicopter without enough parachutes for every passenger?"

This comment prompted mumbles of concurrence from the snowsuit-clad members of the group.

"Every passenger? So… you think the girl wasn't the _only_ passenger?" Cate asked.

"Oh, undoubtedly," Robert went on. "We certainly found evidence of that." He looked over to a well-built man sitting in an armchair near the door, whom James recognised as Joey Whelan, the village mechanic. Joey seemed to take this as a signal to take reigns of the storytelling, and he swallowed a mouthful of fruitcake before continuing where Robert left off.

"Now see, I'm no helicopter specialist or nuthin', but me'n Ted were able ta figure out one or two things between the two of us," Joey began, nodding towards a tall, spindly man sitting on a couch beside Ian, "Ya see, the door separatin' the rear cabin an' the cockpit was _mechanically_ _locked from the control panel_. The side door of the rear cabin was, too. Whoever that girl is, she'd been bolted in that rear cabin with no way out. No way out…" Joey stared at the mahogany floorboards shaking his head in disbelief.

"And another thing," came Ted's voice from beside Ian, "If only to _prove _that the crash was intentional. The doors weren't the only thing locked from the control panel – so were the rotors."

Ted was met with confused looks from the Lodging House residents.

"…What? What do you mean, the _rotors_ were locked?" Olivia said, voicing the exact thoughts of each of her fellows.

"The rotors. Both the tail and overhead rotors had been intentionally jammed from the control panel. I'm guessing that this was a safeguard to ensure that the helicopter crashed, and consequently to ensure that the girl… well, met her demise," Ted said, looking around to make sure that his audience was following his words.

"Luckily for her," he continued, "the helicopter looks as though it first came into contact with a snow slope instead of smashing straight down into the ground. The slope would have transferred a lot of the force of the impact horizontally instead of downwards – so, while the helicopter did appear completely written-off, the damage was actually quite minimal considering it fell from who-knows-how-many feet up in the sky. And plus, the girl's alive – so obviously something went wrong in whosever scheme this was."

Ted lifted his mug to drain the last of his tea, indicating he was done talking. Around the room people sat back in their couches and chairs as his last words sunk in.

_The girl's alive – so obviously something went wrong. _

James was not the only one of the large group who was disturbed by the night's discoveries. Even Sam, whom cared absolutely nothing for the ill-welfare of the sleeping woman upstairs, nonetheless appeared slightly troubled by the implications of Robert, Joey and Ted's revelations.

Someone had intended for the death of one of Saunders City's most prominent business-figures that afternoon. It seemed a faraway concept to grasp for these residents of the small and pleasant town of Fieldsville, but they had somehow found themselves dealing with an attempted murder case.

"…Well," James said, though not particularly knowing what else to say. "… I suppose… we certainly owe you guys some thanks. It's been an enormous help having you check out the wreck tonight… Let's just hope that we can piece all of this together once she wakes up."

"No worries," said Robert, who was standing up from his seat. The other men in snowsuits took this as a cue and too picked themselves up to prepare to leave. "We're just glad the girl's okay," he added.

James saw Sam roll his eyes at this comment, and was thankful Robert and the rest of the guests were too busy moving out into the entrance hall to notice the gesture. James knew exactly what was going through his friend's mind – _If only they knew who she really was… they wouldn't give a damn if the girl was okay_… He shot Michael a disapproving glare, but Michael simply turned away.

Robert, Andrew and the other men bid their farewells before stepping outside into what had become a very fierce blizzard. Mary yelled into the howling wind for them to be safe on their way home, and with the help of Cate pulled the door firmly shut. As flakes of snow that had made their way inside settled on the floor, each of the Lodging House residents looked to one another with expressions of unease.

"I think, perhaps, it is best if we all simply go to bed," Mary finally said. "I know there are a lot of things that people probably want to say, but we all need some sleep. Let us leave these matters to the morning."

For once James was happy to abide by Mary's motherly insistence to dictate the bedtimes of her permanent residents. Despite having only found about the helicopter-crash less than an hour ago, he felt exhausted by the night's events. James had absolutely no desire at this moment to speculate with the others about who was conspiring against Jessica Avalon, much less argue with Michael about the treason of hosting the CEO of Paramount Corps. in the first place.

The others also followed Mary's directions without question, and tiredly herded up the staircase to retire to their bedrooms. Though James warned himself against it, he stopped on his way down the corridor at the door of the room in which Jessie slept. There, in the middle of the single bed, was the girl with whom he had spent the best part of his teenage years. He watched silently as her slight form moved up and down with each even breath.

Jessica Avalon was hell-bent on destroying the town of Fieldsville – the community James had come to love and be a valued part of – all for her company's personal gain. James knew this. Yet he also knew that someone out there had planned to murder this very same woman today. And so, as James walked away from the entrance to Jessie's room, he found himself overwhelmed with a tantalisingly familiar urge to protect Jessie – no matter what the circumstance.

* * *

Tada! Another chapter done! And you will all be very happy to know that in the next chapter we will finally have another reunion between J&J (where both parties are conscious, or course)! Yep, that's right! Jess is on her way to waking up… but don't expect things to be pretty! After all, I hope nobody has forgotten about the allusion that James made to a certain _incident_ that happened when J&J were back in Team Rocket, back in chapter 5…

And also… GASP! Who is trying to knock Jessie off? Hit me with your theories, people! (To those who read this fic before I re-wrote it… SHHHHH!)

So please, leave a review! Once again thanks to all of my wonderful and loyal reviewers (glad to see you back, **dynagurl**!) ! If you haven't reviewed as yet – come on! It's not that hard! If you'd read this far, you may as well!

Well, till next time!

BansheeGirl.


	12. Awakened to Nightmares

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N:** Alas, I have finally finished my Year 12 exams and so now I have all the time in the world to work on this fic! Yay! I'm trying to make chapters shorter so that I update more frequently. There's still so much to go, so I hope you're in for the long haul!

One of my reviewers (thanks Eevee!) has pointed out that I have far too many names to remember in this fic, and what really brought this home to me was the fact that I realised I have been calling James' best friend 'Michael' for the past few chapters, when his name is really 'Sam'! What makes things even more blunderous is the fact that Jessie's _assistant_'s name is 'Michael', so I apologise for any amount of confusion that undoubtedly arose from this! So just for the record, James' best friend Sam, and Jessie's assistant Michael. I'll continue to work on not bringing in too many new characters, because things are even getting confusing for me!

As always, please leave your comments after you've finished reading this chapter so I know what to keep the same and what to improve on! Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 12: Awakened to Nightmares**

When Jessica Avalon awoke the next morning, two realisations immediately struck her as she blinked her eyelids several times in order to focus her vision. For one, she was lying in a bed in a room that she had never seen before, and she had absolutely no idea how she had gotten there. Secondly, her head was throbbing so painfully that Jessie quickly lifted her hand to her forehead just to make sure there wasn't an axe wedged in her skull or something equally as disastrous.

With an impending sense of panic, Jessie quickly sat up. With this, however, a painful groan leapt from the crimson-haired woman's lips as her throbbing head appeared to severely disagree with the force of up sitting up so rapidly. Jessie clenched her eyes shut and gripped her head tightly until the pain in her head abated to its regular, dull pound. Gently, she opened her deep blue eyes again and surveyed the room she was in.

It was a small, modest room. None of the furniture nor simple decorations seemed to tell Jessie anything about where she was, and her head hurt too much to try and remember anything that had happened before waking up that morning. Very slowly, so as not to upset her throbbing head again, Jessie climbed out of bed and set her feet on what she surprisingly found were very cold floorboards. It was then that she looked down and realised that she had not only woken up in a _place_ she had never seen before, but she had woken up in _clothes_ she had never seen before. Falling down to her ankles was a simple, pale-blue nightdress, and Jessie felt another surge of apprehension at the predicament she had found herself in.

_Who has brought me here? Who has changed my **clothes**?_

Jessie carefully crept over to a window to the left of the bed, peering out before shortly gasping. She was clearly on at least the second floor of a building, but everything as far as the eye could see was blanketed in a pristine layer of blindingly white snow. It appeared as though she was in some sort of a village, and every house and similar construction was layered in snow. Not so far away, it seemed, enormous mountains loomed, themselves almost completely covered white. At the sight of her environs, a trace of memory niggled away at the back of Jessie's mind, and yet the pain in her head still prevented her from grasping it.

Turning away from the window, Jessie slowly made her way over to a small mirror that sat upright on top of a chest of drawers beside the room's only door. Another gasp caught in Jessie's throat as her eyes glimpsed her own reflection; a nasty gash made its way diagonally across the left side of Jessie's forehead, and the bridge of her nose was slightly swollen so that faint purple bruises spread out beneath both of her eyes. She delicately traced her fingers across her battered face, Jessie becoming increasingly distressed at how her immaculate features had become so marred.

At the sound of the door swinging open beside her, Jessie quickly turned to see an elderly woman enter the room.

"You're awake," The woman said simply, as she turned to find her guest out of bed. She took a moment to eye Jessie with a reserved expression, whilst Jessie stood and said nothing.

"Ah," Jessie finally began, when the woman did not speak again. She massaged her right temple as the throbbing in her head continued to pulsate, and went on, "I'd rather appreciate it if someone told me exactly _what's going on_? I've got a headache the size of a Snorlax and I have absolutely no idea where I am."

The woman smiled, though Jessie could not determine as to whether it was friendly or not. "You are currently in the Fieldsville Lodging House. You've been asleep here since last night when two local villagers rescued you from a helicopter wreckage some miles into the mountains," the woman said calmly.

Jessie blinked, taking a moment to respond to this statement. _Fieldsville? Helicopter? _Suddenly memories of the past twenty-four hours came flooding back into Jessie's consciousness, and with this a surge of pain shot through Jessie's head so nauseating that she swayed rather alarmingly on the spot. Reflexively the older woman sprang forwards to steady Jessie, and she led the crimson-haired girl to sit back on the edge of her bed.

Jessie ignored the other woman for a moment as her head spun with recollections of the previous day and its events. Her plans to destroyFieldsville in six months time; the surveying expedition to the mountain village; Brendan and Bella, from Paramount Corps.' tourism division; and finally, the horrifying moments when the helicopter went down. As her thoughts eventually calmed, Jessie suddenly settled upon one important thing: she needed to get back to Saunders City.

"I need to go. Now. Back to Saunders City," Jessie stated, staring directly at the elderly woman beside her. The woman's eyes narrowed sceptically, and Jessie felt slightly disturbed when the woman did not answer her. "Do you understand me? I need to get back!" Jessie reiterated forcefully.

"I'm afraid that is going to be quite difficult at the moment. We had a terrible blizzard last night that damaged both of the village helicopters, and the path through the mountains won't be usable for at least another few days," the woman finally responded.

"What?" Jessie cried, unbelievingly. She massaged her temples with the tips of her fingers again, and tried to repress her feelings of anger, as they only seemed to make the pain in her head worse. "Then I need a phone. Where can I use a phone?"

"Unfortunately the blizzard also cut off our telephone connection last night. It probably won't be functioning again before the end of the week, I'm sorry." The woman smiled in an ironically sympathetic way. "And seeing as you don't appear to be interested in asking who _I_ am, my name is Mary, for reference. I own this Lodging House with my husband."

Jessie frowned. "Right… Mary," she began, an irrepressible expression of incredulity displaying itself on her face. "Your phone line was _cut off_? How?"

"We don't receive much funding from the Saunders City council to spend on improving infrastructure and services around here. Our phone line running to the City hasn't been built with the proper protective materials, so it often gets damaged by storms and such. You see, the Saunders City council doesn't appear to hold us in much favour… in fact they've agreed to let some big company bulldoze down this whole place in a few months' time…" Mary said, looking down her nose with her eyebrows raised accusingly.

Jessie's heart skipped a beat. The woman obviously knew who Jessie was. But how had she found out? Jessie realised she must have appeared taken aback at Mary's comment, because the older woman chuckled knowingly.

"Unfortunately for you one of our permanent residents here happens to know exactly who you are, and was kind enough as to alert us of your identity. So don't be surprised if you find some of our other permanent residents here rather… unwelcoming of your presence," she said.

A wave of dread threatened to wash over Jessie. "One of your permanent residents… James? James is here?"

Mary nodded, and the wave immediately crashed down upon the younger girl. She had hoped that her association with her former Team Rocket partner would be rather limited after her meeting with him the previous week, but it appeared that this would not be so. She felt her insides tighten at the thought of having to go through more emotional turmoil with James again…

"So what the hell am I supposed to do? Just sit here for the next week until your crappy phone lines are fixed? Isn't there anyone here who can mend your helicopters?" Jessie cried, desperately trying to find a way out of the predicament she had found herself in.

For the first time an unambiguously stern look morphed itself on Mary's face. "You should maintain a less scornful tone with me, Miss. Avalon. Just remember that we are the ones extending you our hospitality here. That's far more than you're doing for us. Remember?"

Jessie opened her mouth to retaliate, but something in the older woman's piercing glare made Jessie quickly shut it and lower her gaze in concession. The pair of women remained silent for a few icy moments.

"I'll get you some breakfast from downstairs," Mary finally said, the sternness in her voice having disappeared from before. "After that you can have a nice warm bath, and then Olivia – she's a nurse – will give you another check-over, just to see how all of your injuries are mending."

Mary rose from the bed and had exited the room before Jessie could reply. The sapphire-eyed girl remained seated on the bed, her head throbbing even worse than before at the additional burden of remembering _what_ had happened, discovering _where_ she was and exactly _who_ else was here with her. Her mind also spun with confusion at the character of Mary. It was funny – Jessie had stood up to the most important and prominent figures in elite Saunders City society, and yet she had just conceded to the glare of insignificant old woman.

Jessie suddenly realised that she was actually very hungry, and was glad for the fact that Mary had gone to fetch her something to eat. She gently pushed herself up from the bed, and wandered over to the window to stare out at the snowy village below her. After a few quiet minutes of unfruitful distressing over how to escape this situation, the sound of footsteps sounded at the bedroom door. Jessie spun around, fully expecting to see Mary carrying some much-needed breakfast. But standing in the doorway was not Mary. It was James. Jessie's stomach sunk. As James advanced into the room her facial features immediately stiffened into a cold expression of loathing.

Jessie prayed that Mary would also think to bring her up some Aspirin as well.

* * *

Woo! Chapter 12 in the bag. I won't respond individually to everyone who reviewed the last chapter (because it was so long ago!), so just a great big general thanks to all the wonderful people who did review! 

Anyway, will definitely have the next chapter out very soon. See you all then!

BansheeGirl.


	13. Last to Know

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N:** See, told you I'd update soon! And you'll like this chapter – I've finally decided to reveal a few things you should find very interesting… Surprises even for all of my lovely readers who read Jessie's New Groove! As always, please review once you've finished reading! Thankies!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 13: Last to Know**

"What do _you_ want?" Jessie spat, making James stop dead where he was. The pair stood in the room on opposite sides of the bed Jessie had slept in, and Jessie intended to keep it that way.

She watched as James smiled incredulously. "As a matter of fact I simply came to see how you are. But I see that not even my general concern is welcomed when it comes to you, is it Jessie?" He stated rather calmly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jessie grinned sardonically. "Got it in one, Jimmy. Now, if you don't mind?" She waved her head toward the door. James, however, stayed put.

"You've got some nerve, don't you?" James suddenly exclaimed, a little louder than Jessie had anticipated. "You can't continue to treat me, or any of the rest of us like dirt!"

"I'll treat you and everyone else exactly how _I _want to, thanks very much."

"Not unless you'd like to find your own hospitality, Jessie," James immediately retaliated, and to Jessie's dismay he rounded the end of the bed and came to stand directly in front of her. The bed no longer provided a barrier between her and James; her last bid to hold some stance of power was gone.

"You are goddamn lucky that you're even alive," James said, glaring into Jessie. "We are sticking our necks out here to help you. Some people might say that's a crazy thing to do, considering you plan to destroy Fieldsville. But we're doing it anyway. Are you really in a position to argue?"

Jessie glowered at James, barely able to keep her rage from boiling over. "Get out," she scorned.

James' eyes widened in disbelief. "Get out? Jessie, if wasn't for me, Mary and the others probably _would_ have refused to let you stay here."

"If it wasn't for _you_, the others wouldn't even know who I am, and would've willingly leant a poor, injured stranger their hospitality anyway," Jessie retorted, a fierce smirk playing across her face.

James' brow furrowed, and he let out an angry sigh. "I can't believe this. I really can't. I thought I'd seen how much of a bitch you've become back in Saunders City, but this… You've just added a whole new level to the word. You _owe us_ some dignity Jessie."

"I owe you _nothing_," Jessie immediately hissed, her face mere inches from James'. She could suddenly feel hot tears burning in her eyes, and Jessie knew they were a mixture of both fury and all-too-painful memories. It seemed James noticed Jessie's impending tears, too, for he slowly stepped backwards away from Jessie; a confused expression plastered across his face.

Jessie blinked her eyelids furiously in attempt to banish her tears, whilst inwardly chastising herself for allowing herself to become so emotional. She glanced over to James, who was still staring at Jessie with a baffled look on his face. An awkward silence fell upon the room.

"What's going on?" Came a voice from the door; this time it _was_ Mary carrying a tray of breakfast for Jessie.

Mary's arrival shattered the icy atmosphere of the room, and Jessie noticed that, like her, James suddenly appeared somewhat disoriented.

"Uh… nothing," James finally said in a rather unsure tone, and he ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair. "I should go…" He said, and glanced at Jessie one last time. The look they exchanged was undiscernible even to Jessie, but James swiftly exited the room before anything more could be said.

Mary eyed James out of the door, before turning to Jessie. As Mary opened her mouth undoubtedly to question Jessie as to what had just occurred, Jessie had gathered her wits and quickly interjected to save any further talk on the incident.

"Is that my breakfast?"

Without waiting for an answer, Jessie slid back into her bed and sat up against the bed-head. "Well, come on!" She said, motioning for Mary to bring over her breakfast. "I haven't got all day, you know."

* * *

James entered the Lodging House much later that day after several hours at the council offices dealing with issues concerning the damage caused by the storm the previous night. He wearily made his way into the kitchen which was empty, save for Mary toiling away over the stove. Seating himself down at a table in the middle of the room, James let out a drained sigh and rubbed his tired eyes.

"How is she?" He asked, trying to sound indifferent.

"She's fine," Mary replied, "She had a bath after breakfast, but otherwise she's been fast asleep for most of the day."

James nodded absentmindedly. He still could not get that image of Jessie on the verge of tears out of his mind. Indeed, it had been distracting him all day. He had never fathomed that she could still be so upset with him, even after all these years…

James looked up to see that Mary had pulled up a chair next to him. She peered at him with a knowing expression in her eyes.

"She didn't know, did she?"

A lump caught in James' throat. "Didn't know… what?" He said, though knowing very well what Mary was talking about.

"She didn't know that you were a double-agent. She didn't know that you really worked for the Police Intelligence Agency, did she?"

James remained silent, staring down at the table for a long time. "No," he finally said.

"You said that you and Miss Avalon were partners, yesterday," Mary prompted.

James looked up at Mary. "Yeah…" He began, "Team Rocket agents were generally sent out in pairs. We were partners."

"But you didn't tell her who you really were. Even though you became… quite good friends, am I right?"

James nodded, almost regretfully. "She only found out that I was one of the double-agents after the takedown operation seven years ago…" He closed his eyes; memories of the most famous operational attack the Police Department had conducted in history – the takedown of Team Rocket – came flooding back to him. The takedown had only been possible because of the inside information that a select few double-agents – James included – had been sent in to secretly feed back to the Police Intelligence Agency. After a few years, the Police Department had gathered enough information to launch a grand-scale attack on all Team Rocket bases, finally taking down the renowned crime organisation for good.

"She was going to be given a sentence, along with the rest of the captured Team Rocket agents," James continued. "But I managed to talk the Police Department into letting her go. During our time in Team Rocket I usually managed to sabotage every one of our Pokémon-stealing plans… so she wasn't really accountable for any major crime. I believe she only had to complete six months of community service, for damages. Still… she never forgave me for lying to her for all those years…"

"It must have been hard for her," Mary said, and James was surprised at the note of genuine sympathy in her voice. He waited a moment before responding.

"I never meant…" He began, though struggled to find the words to continue. "I never meant for things to get so messy. I never planned to develop friendships with anyone in Team Rocket; everything was supposed to be purely business. But… things just didn't turn out that way…"

Mary extended her hand and placed it on top of one of James'. "I can see it must have been hard for you, too. Don't be so harsh on yourself."

He frowned. "You saw her this morning! She was upset. She's still upset about it…"

"She must have cared about you a lot, then. When you care for someone it doesn't just disappear easily. Maybe this is your chance to salvage a friendship?"

James eyed Mary sceptically. "You want me to salvage a friendship with Jessica Avalon? What happened to burning Paramount Corps. to the ground?"

The elderly woman smiled shrewdly, and pushed herself up from her seat to resume her cooking at the stove once again. "Oh, I have no sympathy for Paramount Corps.," she said, "But… perhaps Jessica Avalon isn't the embodiment of Satan I thought she was before."

James absorbed Mary's words, and suddenly felt a pang of guilt for yelling at Jessie the way he had that morning. And yet, the fact that she wanted to destroy Fieldsville still presented itself as a rather important element in the matter.

It seemed like James had suddenly become uncomfortably stuck between a rock and a very hard place.

* * *

Did I say that I'd be trying to make chapters shorter? Hm, well, that plan certainly doesn't appear to have taken effect yet! Oh well. Next time. 

So, what does everyone think of this chapter? I had a lot of fun writing it (oh, the angst!), and I hope everyone likes the nice little revelations! Tell me what you think!

Also, for all who reviewed last chapter... I give you a big THANKYOU! And jellybeans! Lots 'n lotsa jellybeans!

You'll be hearing from me soon!

BansheeGirl.


	14. Which Way Home?

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N:** Hello, once again. Look, I'm getting good at updating regularly! Go me! Hope you enjoy this instalment, and do review once you're done!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 14: Which Way Home?**

Over the next two days the atmosphere within the Fieldsville Lodging House continued to become rather tense. Sam and James barely spoke, and when they did it was only to carry on their fight as to whether they should continue hosting Jessie within the Lodging House walls. Problems between Oliva and James also continued, as Olivia began to notice how the only thing that seemed to remain on James' mind these days was Jessie. Jessie herself rested in bed for most of the time, but refused to see James at all. Mary tried to play peacekeeper with everyone (rather unrewardingly), and both Ian and Cate simply did their best to stay out of anyone's crossfire. Cate's children, David and Laura, seemed to think it was pretty exciting having an injured helicopter-crash victim in their midst, and had to be told countless times by various members of the Lodging House to stop spying on Jessie from her bedroom door.

It was during the evening three days after Jessie had been brought to the Lodging House that James sat in the living room on his chair by the fire trying to read a book. After reading over the same paragraph a total of seven times, he finally realised that his head was still full of too much mess to concentrate, and so put the book down. Looking around, all James' fellow permanent residents, aside from Mary and Cate's children, were also silently busying themselves in the living room. No one spoke, however, and James suddenly felt as though he were responsible for the uncomfortable air that had grown between his friends since Jessie's arrival.

James listened as the sound of footsteps made their way down the stairs outside the entrance to the living room, and looked to see that Mary had arrived to join the group. She wore a wearisome expression, and made her way toward the living room fire to sit down in an armchair opposite James.

"The girl finally asked if there were any other survivors from the helicopter crash," Mary said.

James was momentarily taken aback. Since his argument with Jessie two days previous, he had actually forgotten about the suspicious circumstances surrounding the helicopter crash. "What did you tell her…?"

"I told her everything – that there were no others found at the wreckage, that there were no parachutes left, and that the doors and rotors were locked. She's probably still in shock, but I think she wanted to be left alone. Poor thing…"

Sam made a loud scoffing noise at Mary's last comment. Despite the fact that his auburn-haired friend never lifted his gaze from the magazine he was reading, James shot a frustrated look to Sam anyway.

"What did she say, when you told her?" James asked, turning back to Mary.

"Not much. Only that there were three other people riding in that helicopter with her – the pilot, and a man and woman who were supposedly from some division of Paramount Corps. But she did make a comment that she had never _actually_ seen them before…"

James frowned. He was beginning to share Jessie's frustration in being unable to contact anyone in Saunders City due to the damaged telephone lines. It seemed like no one would be getting any questions answered anytime soon. He sat in silence once again, staring into the flames beside him and mulling over how he was going to deal with a growing mound of problems.

"I need to get to get back to Saunders City," a voice suddenly sounded from the living room entrance.

Everone in the room peered up from what they were doing. There, standing in a nightdress at the entrance of the living room was a determined-looking Jessie.

Mary stood up. "Miss Avalon, you know that our helicopters are not operating at the moment. The telephone lines, too, have not been repaired. I'm afraid you'll have to wait."

"I _can't_ wait!" Jessie cried, and James noticed that she was deliberately avoiding his gaze.

"And just what the hell do you expect us to do?" Sam spoke up. "Isn't it enough that we're giving you a bed to sleep in?"

Jessie looked to Sam, who thus far she had not met. She narrowed her eyes, but did not warrant him a response. Instead, she turned back to address Mary.

"I need to get back to Saunders City," Jessie repeated.

"I'm sorry, but it's just not possible to hasten the repair process-"

"-You don't understand!" Jessie interrupted, advancing further into the living room. "I have an entire company to run, and if what you say about the helicopter crash is true, then _who knows_ what kind of havoc is being wreaked at Paramount Corps.!"

"So wait a minute," Sam interjected again, this time standing up from his chair and speaking far more forcefully. "You want us to help you back to Saunders City, so… what, exactly? So you can get back to your wonderful company and continue your plans to _destroy_ this town? Oh gee, sure. We'll get on that straight away."

Jessie closed her eyes for a moment, opened them again and looked to Sam with a spiteful expression. "You're stupider than I anticipated if you think that the plans to demolish this town won't go ahead if I'm not there. So just keep your little mouth shut, okay, goatee-boy?"

Sam seemed incredulous at Jessie's audacity, but Mary spoke before he could respond.

"There really is nothing we can do, dear. I'm sorry," she said.

Jessie did not seem swayed by this. "You said to me when I first woke up that there's a path to Saunders City through the mountains. Is it usable yet?"

Mary looked taken aback. Indeed, everyone in the room seemed confused at Jessie's suggestion.

"Jessie, you can't be serious. You're still recovering from a _helicopter crash_. You're in no condition to trek through the mountains for three days," James stated, forcing Jessie to finally look at him.

"I'm _fine_," she said, glaring at James as though she dared him to speak again. She again turned back to Mary. "So I'm right to assume that the path through the mountains is now usable?"

"Well, yes," Mary answered, "but you really do need to get some more rest before you undertake anything so strenuous, Miss Avalon. Olivia?"

"She's right," Olivia instantly responded. "It would be best if you spent a few more days in _bed_ – not trekking through the snow, Jessica."

"You said just this morning that I'm recovering excellently. And I feel perfectly fine," Jessie defended.

"You would never make it through the mountains on your own. If you've never walked the path before then it will be impossible for you to find your way," offered Ian.

"Then someone will just have to take me."

"Yeah, right. Good luck finding someone in this town who will take _you_ to Saunders City," Sam spat.

Jessie looked scornfully at Sam, but the silence that fell upon the room seemed to indicate that he did indeed have somewhat of a point.

"I'll take you," James suddenly said.

It was almost as though James did not say anything; for a few good moments the living room remained dead-silent, aside from the crackling of the flames within the fireplace.

"_What? _James, you can't be serious," someone finally said, and surprisingly it was not Sam, but Olivia.

"I am serious," James confirmed. He looked to Jessie. Her nostrils were flaring widely, assumedly at the fact that the _one_ person who she really did not want to spend three days alone with was the only person who was offering to take her to Saunders City.

After a long while of looking positively infuriated, Jessie appeared to have arrived at some sort of reasoning. "Fine then. We'll leave tomorrow morning," she said to James. "I'll trust you to take care of all the preparations before we leave. In the meantime… I'll be resting in bed."

And with that, Jessie turned on her heel and exited the living room to head upstairs. The Lodging House residents watched her leave in stunned silence.

"Just tell me," Sam began, "Did that really happen? Did that… _woman…_ just come in here and order one of us to take her to Saunders City? And forgive me if I'm wrong, but did one of us _actually_ agree to take her? Because I'm really having a hard time comprehending exactly why someone would do that." He glared menacingly at James, and at this moment no outsider would ever believe that these two men were actually best friends. Or perhaps _used _to be best friends.

James tore his eyes away from an enraged Sam to look around the room. Olivia had her arms crossed defensively, a hurt look displayed on her face. Ian and Cate both maintained questioning expressions, while Mary, on the other hand, looked as though she was beginning to understand the reasoning behind James' decision.

"Look," James started, "I know that Jessie's- uh, that is, Jessica Avalon's presence is a large burden here. If I take her to Saunders City… then perhaps we can all start acting civilised toward one another again. And plus… I know her. You may not be able to understand, but her and I have a pretty deep history. If I spend some time with her… help her… then maybe I can convince her to change her plans to destroy Fieldsville."

"That is the stupidest idea I've ever heard," Sam retorted. He got up and went to leave the room. "Whatever 'friend' she might have been before, sure doesn't exist anymore. All you're doing is speeding up Fieldsville's appointment with the undertaker. Thanks a lot, James," he added in a fierce tone, and then disappeared out of the living room.

Sam's attack on James suddenly seemed to be the signal for everyone to head to bed. Olivia hurried from the room without a word, while Cate sent James a sympathetic expression before too leaving.

"I hope you _can_ convince her. If you really do think you can, then make sure you give it all you've got, son," Ian said in his gruff voice, briefly placing a hand on James' shoulder before he also left the room.

With Mary the only one left with James, he looked to her with eyes that asked whether he was doing the right thing.

"Don't worry, James. They'll see… you'll find a way." She smiled kindly at him and with those few simple words James felt a little bit more confident about his commitment.

"Now, come on…" Mary continued, "It looks like it's up to us to get everything ready for this hike."

* * *

Alright! Hopefully things are moving a bit faster now, and everyone's still enjoying the flow of the story. Tell me what you think! I'd really love to hear your comments on the storyline, characters and such. 

Oh, and for anyone who reviewed last chapter... HUGS ALL AROUND!

Should have the next chapter out very soon. Keep your eyes peeled! Constant vigilance!

BansheeGirl.


	15. Leave the Pain

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N:** Sorry for the slight wait in the updating process, but alas – you've finally got your next dose of MFoLaC (my self-indulgent abbreviation for the ridiculously long title of this fic) ! And, c'mon – if you've read this far into the story, you may as well drop me a review while you're here. I'd really appreciate any comments! Thankyou, and enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 15: Leave the Pain**

Jessie stamped her booted foot down on the hard snow, extending her knee to finally arrive at the top of a rather large ridge that she and James had been ascending for the past hour. Jessie had insisted that she was more than fit to undertake the three-day trek to Saunders City, but she now found herself almost fainting with the relief that they had finally completed this strenuous climb. She tried to ignore the fact that there were probably numerous other, possibly even steeper climbs like this on the way through the mountains.

Of course Jessie attempted to hide from James the toll that the hike seemed to be having on her already battered body, but she knew that he had seen her several times already that day wincing as she knocked a bruise or wound, or slightly lagging behind as her body forbade her from keeping up with James' own conditioned pace. This was why Jessie was unsurprised when James turned around at the top of this ridge to signal for them to stop.

"We can rest here for a moment," he said, unshouldering his backpack.

"I'm fine," Jessie instinctively replied, though she threw herself down to sit on a nearby rock anyway. She too shrugged off her large hiking pack, savouring this moment of leisure. James, on the other hand, stood looking out over the landscape before them with a hand shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun.

"It looks like the snow build-up from the blizzard has pretty much melted over the past few days. We should make good time. I'd say we'll arrive at our first camping base well before nightfall," James informed, turning around to look down at Jessie.

Jessie met James' eyes for a moment, though did not respond. The pair had in fact hardly spoken to each other since leaving the Lodging House that morning, and it was now already past noon. There was certainly an air of uncomfortable tension between the pair, but every attempt that James made to lighten the atmosphere was coldly rejected by an indifferent Jessie. Sitting here now, Jessie suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of disbelief at the situation she had found herself in. How on Earth had she wound up travelling alone, through the middle of nowhere with the one person that she had vowed she never, ever wanted to see again?

As Jessie felt a surge of all-too-familiar anger, she quickly diverted her thoughts to other matters, as she had been doing all morning in order to save herself from becoming upset about the whole James ordeal all over again. Reshouldering her backpack as James motioned for the pair to begin moving again, Jessie began to contemplate the issues that appeared to await her in Saunders City, where she was undoubtedly presumed dead…

The revelation that the helicopter crash was _deliberate_ had been nothing short of a shock to Jessie. She had certainly received a great deal of verbal abuse and hate-mail during her career as CEO of Paramount Corps. of Saunders, but Jessie had never anticipated that someone would ever actually go so far as to make an attack on her life. She dreaded to think what kind of horrible goings-on were occurring at the Paramount Corps. offices, without her to oversee everything. Jessie imagined the media's reaction to her 'death'. The journalists would already be throwing a party at being able to report the tragic demise of one of Saunders City's most prominent business figures – they'd have an absolute field-day when Jessie returned and the whole affair suddenly turned into a brutal, yet failed attempt at murder.

Murder. Jessie's mind drifted back to the afternoon that she had climbed into that helicopter, and silently chided herself. She had _known_ that something was not right when she did not recognise those supposed Paramount Corps. representatives from the tourism division. _And yet she had stupidly gotten into the helicopter anyway._ Hadn't her experiences with James taught her not to be so trusting? To assume nothing? And yet she had been fooled by the unfamiliar man and woman that day, and it had almost cost Jessie her life. _Brendan Middleton and Bella Fanning_; Jessie suddenly remembered their names… The names of her attempted murderers. Jessie doubted, however, that they were solely responsible for the murder plan. It appeared that the pilot of the helicopter was in on the deal as well, but she was sure that these people were merely carrying out the handiwork of some higher power. But who?

Jessie pushed a low branch of a pine tree away so as to allow her passage through a small patch of alpine forest that James had begun to lead them through, and sighed. The truth was, Jessie could think of many people who certainly wouldn't mind if she was six feet underground. She felt a sudden pang of desolation for allowing herself to once again find her way into such a position where so many people in society loathed her, but quickly brushed it off and tried to narrow down the field of possible murderer-candidates instead.

Perhaps Terrance Brown was behind the conspiracy? Jessie had, after all, just closed a deal with his father the week before to take over the Brown family business, the Silvertop Mining Company. Terrance had been adamant against the sale of the Mining Company, and the way he had fought against Jessie and her associates, as well as his own father, made him a real possibility. Then there was Ruth Parker. While she definitely didn't appear to be the murderous type of woman, Jessie knew that Ruth Parker would love to see the Paramount Corps. CEO position filled by someone who was a little more people-considerate.

Wrenching all thought from the attempted murder, Jessie suddenly tripped on a small rock protruding from the ground and fell straight down onto her hands and knees in the snow. While she tried her best to stop it, she let out a painful cry as her bruised and wounded limbs hit the ground, or certainly felt the effects of the jolt. Before Jessie could even try to push herself up James was by her side and bending down to pull her upright.

"Don't," Jessie ordered, pushing James away as she steadied herself in a standing position. "I don't need your help," she said, glaring at him as he abidingly stood back.

James looked to Jessie with a frustrated expression. It seemed as though he wanted to say something; perhaps even shout at Jessie. But he did not utter a word, and merely shot Jessie a final cross look before continuing onwards in front of her.

Jessie followed behind him, feelings of infuriation beginning to rise again. She wanted to scream at him for looking at her like that; for trying to make her feel bad. _It's his fault_, she thought. She kicked down hard at a clump of snow at her feet so fragments flew out at all directions before her like an angry explosion.

This was going to be a very long three days.

* * *

James stirred the soup he had put together in a pot that hung over a small fire, occasionally stopping to sample the contents before adding something else and continuing with the stirring spoon. It was just nightfall, and he and Jessie had arrived at a cave that was often used as first camp for the journey to Saunders City from Fieldsville. It was a good size, and well sheltered from the wind and snow outside.

That afternoon the hike had continued with the bare minimum of words exchanged between the pair; the bare minimum consisting of James' navigational directions and Jessie's brief acknowledgement that she had actually heard James speak. Jessie sat across the other side of the cave now, re-dressing her own wounds as Olivia had shown her that morning before they left. James did not even bother offering to help re-dress some of Jessie's more harder-to-reach wounds. He knew even before asking that she would reject the offer completely, probably in the fewest and most abrupt words as possible.

James was beginning to seriously doubt the logic behind his motives for agreeing to take Jessie to Saunders City. Jessie barely allowed him to speak to her, let alone try to convince her to change her plans to demolish Fieldsville. It was only the first day of their trek, and James already envisioned it was to be a very long, silent and uncomfortable journey for both.

He tasted his soup again, finally deciding it was ready to eat. Serving two tin bowls full with the soup, he walked over to Jessie and handed her one with a spoon and some of Mary's homemade bread to accompany the meal. Receiving a barely audible 'thankyou' from her as she accepted the food, James headed back over to the other side of the cave to settle down with his own meal. The cold wind could be heard howling outside the cave, and the sound of the slurping of soup could be heard within it. But still, a proper conversation between Jessie and James was yet to occur on their hike together.

James placed his empty bowl down beside him, and looked over to Jessie. Things couldn't go on like this. Not for a further two entire days. Things needed to be said.

"So…" He began, "How did you get into the Paramount Corps. scene, Jessie?" James asked, knowing fully well that he was not going to get an appropriate answer to that question.

Jessie peered up from the bowl in her hands. "I am not talking to you, James," she said.

"Why not?" James responded, the force in his voice evident.

Jessie slammed her emptied bowl down next to her. "Because I don't have to, that's why!" She cried.

"Yes, you do! That's what people do, they talk to each other! We went through a really rough time Jessie, but-"

"-A _rough time_? Is that what you're calling it now, huh?" Jessie exclaimed.

James stared at Jessie for a few long moments, while she looked back at him angrily.

"What did you want me to do, Jessie? I was _doing my job_. You're still blaming me for carrying out a task entrusted to me by the good guys? For helping to put a stop to a criminal organisation that wreaked absolute hell on the Pokémon world for years?"

"A criminal organisation that _I_ was a part of! And I thought _you _were a part of, too! Before I met you I hated myself for being so… so _weak_ and pathetic that all I was good for was Team Rocket. But then I was partnered with you, and I thought… I thought that you were in exactly the same position as me. But you were somehow different… at first I couldn't put my finger on it, but then I realised. You _believed_! And you made _me_ believe that we could be more than lowly criminals; you made me believe in all of my dreams. And then…"

Both Jessie and James were up now, standing no more than two metres apart in the centre of the room.

"…And then you made me feel like the biggest fool in the world, James," Jessie continued, her voice shaking slightly with both anger and the hot tears James could see welling in her eyes. "Because you _were _different. But it wasn't because you 'believed'. No, I understand now that that was a complete load of bullshit. You were different because everything you said _was a pack of lies_! Everything. It was all just a sham to bide some time before you threw everything back in our faces."

"It wasn't all lies, Jessie!" James cried, "You don't understand… Sure, I had to lie about some things to keep my cover. But my friendship with you, and with Meowth… that was _not_ a lie! How could I have faked all of the great times we had together? I never meant to get tangled up in friendships when I was sent into Team Rocket, but I did. It was no lie Jessie. I _never_ meant to hurt you or Meowth."

"_Friendship?_" Jessie shrieked, and for the first time tears did start spilling out of her eyes. "How can you call what we had a _friendship_? How could you have been my friend when _I didn't even know you?_ I didn't know who you were, and I certainly don't know who you are now!"

"Yes you do!" James exclaimed, and stepped forward to take Jessie's hands in his own, "I am the same James that you knew in Team Rocket. I am the same person… I just worked for the other side. That's all."

Jessie glared into James' eyes, only a few inches away from her own. "_That's all?_" She hissed. "That's _it_ James. I don't blame you for doing your job. I blame you for lying to me throughout our entire so-called 'friendship'. I blame you for betraying me. I blame you for the fact that I found out you were a double-agent from some random Rocket in my holding cell in prison, instead of from you."

She snatched her hands out of James', before turning on her heel and retreating back to her side of the cave. She violently pulled out her sleeping bag from her pack while James remained in the centre of the cave, staring down at the ground and otherwise not knowing quite what to do next.

"Don't speak to me again," Jessie warned as she climbed into her sleeping bag and lay down with her back to James. Her voice was not as forceful as she had probably intended; James concluded that she was attempting to hold back another bout of tears.

Silence fell upon the room again, and James slowly moved to pack up the cooking equipment. Before long he too found himself curled up in his sleeping bag, but somehow James didn't think that he would be getting much sleep this night.

* * *

Yikes! Long chapter! But I hopes you likes it… 'cos it took me one helluva long time to write! I'd REALLY love to know what everyone thinks about this chapter… go on, dissect it! Tell me everything – the good, the bad and even the ugly. 

Oh, and if anyone can't remember who Terrance Brown is, go back and read Chapter 1 again, and if you can't remember who Ruth Parker is, go back and check out Chapter 5. I just thought it might have been a while since some of my regular readers have seen those names!

Well, hopefully the next chapter won't be as draining for me to write! Should be up soon, either way. So, til next time!

BansheeGirl.


	16. Breaking the Ice

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N:** Eeek! A little bit of a wait in the updating process again… sorry about that! Yet lo and behold – chapter 16 has finally made its way to your computer screen! Do enjoy, and please review once you're done… now, on with the show!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 16: Breaking the Ice**

James listened to the rhythmic crunching of snow behind him; the only indication that there was even another person accompanying him on the second day of the hike to Saunders City. It was well into the afternoon now, and Jessie had not spoken a single word all day. Indeed, she had hardly acknowledged James' presence at all. And yet to James' surprise Jessie did not do this with an air of anger, nor one of scorned indifference. No, today Jessie had woken and remained so mentally distant from anything that she had begun to border on sheer vagueness.

James, on the other hand, did not know how to act. Jessie's outburst the night before had elicited feelings of guilt, regret, pity and sorrow in James, and yet he still could not shake the impression that he wasn't the only one in the wrong. Jessie was still the woman who was planning to throw four-hundred innocent people out of their homes simply in order to build a ski resort, and James clung tightly into this fact as a way of allowing himself some sense of justification.

He could tell that Jessie, despite her not having said anything, was appreciating the relatively flat terrain that the pair had been traversing during this second leg of the trek far more than the rises that they had had to conquer the previous day. James knew that the injuries Jessie had sustained from the helicopter crash were far from healed and pain-free, and he was genuinely thankful that the rest of the hike wasn't going to be too stressful on her battered body. He stopped walking now and turned to wait for Jessie, and only just suddenly realised that a mist had begun to fall as dusk approached.

Jessie arrived beside James, halted and stood silently.

"It's only a short way before the next campsite," James felt obliged to say, though he seriously questioned whether Jessie was even listening to him. "Lucky, because we really don't want to be out here once this fog sets in. We could get lost for hours."

With this comment, Jessie suddenly looked to James with a distinct clarity in her eyes for the first time all day.

"What do you mean, we could get lost? Didn't you bring a compass?"

Jessie's sudden decision to speak caught James slightly off-guard, and it was a moment before he replied. "Compasses don't work in these mountains. There's too much iron ore in the rock, and it completely throws out the magnetic fields that compasses operate on. That's what Ian meant back at the Lodging House about it being impossible to navigate the path through the mountains if you've never walked it before – you can only find your way by memory."

James watched as Jessie appeared slightly perturbed by this information.

"You don't have to worry – we'll be at the next cave well before the fog will become a problem," he reassured, and began walking again. The familiar crunch of Jessie's footsteps quickly followed behind, but it was not long at all before the sound of snow beneath the pair's feet changed into something altogether different.

"Is this safe to walk on?" Jessie spoke again, stopping behind James. Her tone was not an anxious one, but more a simple demand of information.

James turned around to face Jessie, and then down at the ice that the pair had begun to walk across. "I wouldn't be taking us across it if it wasn't. It's okay – at this time of year this lake is covered in a very thick sheet of ice. We're only going around the outside of it, so we're in no danger. I've done this many, many times."

Jessie did not respond to James' words, but looked away with that distant expression returning in her eyes. James waited to see if she would say anything else, but it appeared that she had lapsed back into the silence that had claimed her all day. Sighing, he turned back around and continued onward around the edge of the frozen lake.

James wondered what Jessie was thinking about. What had distracted her so throughout the entire day's walk? He thought of the helicopter crash and wondered whether she was worried at all about the fact that someone had actually tried to kill her. Perhaps she was planning how to deal with the issue once they arrived in Saunders City. Perhaps she was going over all of the facts within her head, trying to determine who could be responsible for her attempted murder. James himself had wanted to ask Jessie the details of the crash, the events leading up to it and who she suspected as the perpetrators – it was a trained curiosity that he had developed during his time at the Police Department's Intelligence Agency. If things continued the way they were between Jessie and James now, however, he knew that there was certainly going to be no way of him getting any such information from his current company.

And yet he could not help feeling that Jessie's constant vagueness was the product of the argument that the pair had engaged in the night before. At least during the previous day's walk Jessie had conveyed the fact that she was angry with James, and that she was forcing indifference. Now there was just… nothing.

James suddenly stopped. _Nothing_. Lost in thought, he had not realised that the sound of Jessie's footsteps behind him had disappeared. He spun around quickly, his whole body instantly seizing with fear when he could not see Jessie at all in the mist that was becoming denser and denser with every minute.

"Jessie?" He called out.

There was no reply. James immediately leapt forward to run back the way he had come.

"_Jessie!"_

_

* * *

_

It happened in a second.

Her mind had been in another world, and it had only just been upon the realisation that she could no longer see James ahead that she had heard the sickening crack from beneath her. Her insides immediately contracted; her limbs petrified. In that second she was suddenly aware of her whole body and everything around her, before the ice she stood on completely gave way and Jessie plunged into the freezing water below.

The pain that Jessie felt as she was enveloped in the icy water was indescribable. Ironically, the closest thing that she could compare the writhing pain of the ice-cold liquid against her skin was being burned. It was as if her entire body was being eaten away by burning acid.

Jessie gasped, trying to call out to James for help. Yet the freezing water seemed to press in on her, squeezing all air out of her lungs and making it impossible to make any sound other than a panicked whimper. She frantically tread water, and yet with every movement it was as though her limbs became heavier and heavier, making it harder and harder to keep herself afloat. Jessie tried to grasp onto the edge of the hole she had fallen into in attempt to hoist herself up onto solid ice, but any strength she might have had seemed to have instantly drained away, leaving her weak and useless. Her limbs had already begun to numb as Jessie's body began the automatic process of shutting down one's periphery in order to sustain the vital organs. _I am going to die_, she realised.

She went under.

Jessie inwardly screamed for her arms and legs to move; to kick back to the surface. She fought to stay in control; to keep holding her breath so she did not allow the icy water into her lungs – the undoubtable final step to her doom. Mustering all of her remaining energy she thrust a heavy arm upwards, but it still came short of the surface above. _This is it… this is the end…_

And then, quite unexpectedly, just as Jessie bordered on unconsciousness, an arm reached down into the water above her and grasped tightly onto her own outstretched one. In one great movement she was hoisted out of the chilling depths and up onto the solid ice above. She was still in a state of disorientation as James physically dragged her away from the open hole, before stopping short ten or so metres away. There he collapsed down beside Jessie, and, despite her dripping wet state, he immediately wrapped his arms around her.

All prior tendencies were forgotten and Jessie quickly responded by clinging onto James, seeking his warmth. Tears streamed down her face as her cold, wet clothes continued to chill her painfully to the bone.

"Make it stop!" She sobbed into James' snow jacket, clutching even more tightly onto him. But it seemed to Jessie a worthless endeavour – she felt as though there could be no way in the world to rid her convulsing body of the cold now.

"Jessie," she heard him say, "We can't stay here. I know you're in pain!" He cried, as Jessie let out another sob of agony. "If you stay out here like this, you'll be dead of hypothermia before you know it! We have to get to the cave, it's not that far…"

And with that James stood up, heaving Jessie upright with him. She faltered on her feet, and James supported her close to his body.

"I can't," she started, through wracking sobs, "I can't m-move! My legs, they d-don't move!"

James suddenly took a firm hold of the sides of Jessie's head, and turned her to look directly into his intense eyes.

"Jessie, you're giving yourself a panic attack!" He yelled, and Jessie's sobs miraculously subsided to some degree. "I know it's hard, but we _have_ to get to the cave as soon as possible. _Make_ your legs move. Give me your pack," he said, and he wrenched Jessie's pack off her back and swung it over his shoulder. "Now come on."

With James holding tightly onto her arm, Jessie forced herself to endure more pain and continued the slow trek around the remainder of the frozen lake.

Jessie had always had the impression that Hell was a hot place, full of flame and heat. Now she realised that it was the very opposite. The desolate, horrible cold that tore at Jessie's being was the purest form of Hell she could ever dare imagine.

* * *

Mwahaha! And it is there that I leave you, my dear readers! Thankyou for reading, once again, and please do review! Thankyou to everyone who reviewed last time – your complementary iPods should be coming in the mail any day now! 

I won't be posting review responses on my profile page anymore, because I'm going to try this new service thingy they've got going here on where I just reply to my Review Alerts… kay? So if you do leave me a review, you'll receive a nice message from me right to your inbox! Isn't that just lovely?

Well, till next time and next chapter!

BansheeGirl.


	17. Rush of Blood

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N:** I ended up finishing this chapter a little later than I anticipated, but you shouldn't be too displeased! Just remember the days when I only posted an update for this fic every few months! Eeek! As always, please review once you're done reading this chapter… I'm almost at 100 reviews! Yay! Don't you want to be one of the darling people who helps me get there? Of course you do! Now go on, get reading!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 17: Rush of Blood**

Jessie stood in nothing but her underwear, frantically trying to rub herself dry with one of James' spare blankets. James himself was on his knees a few metres away, doing his best to light a fire in the small pit that had been created there for travellers using the mountain route. They had arrived at the cave only minutes beforehand, where James had ordered Jessie to take her clothes off immediately. Despite being almost frozen to death, at this request Jessie had looked to James with an indignant glare.

"If you don't get those wet clothes off, Jessie, you are going to die!" He had yelled, and Jessie had instantly bowed her head and retreated to the back of the cave to strip down to her bare nothings. As she rubbed her arms now to try and generate some warmth, Jessie heard the flicker of a fire and, with James' blanket wrapped around her, she hobbled over to the inviting flames.

"No," James said, standing up and holding his arm out to prevent Jessie from getting any closer to the fire. She looked to him with flustered confusion.

"What the hell, James? I need to get warm!" She cried, and she felt tears beginning to sting in her eyes again. She couldn't handle this cold anymore.

"If you apply direct heat by standing next to that fire, your circulatory system will go straight into shock. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to let your body do most of the work," James said, and looked at Jessie with an expression of regret.

Jessie peered up at James, frustratingly puzzled by what he was saying. Yet the tingle she suddenly began to feel in her fingers and toes immediately answered her questions.

Jessie whimpered loudly as the tingling began to become painful, spreading up her previously numb limbs. She shook her arms madly, trying to make the awful sensations stop. Yet they only seemed to become worse, and Jessie looked up at James as she started to sob hysterically with the pain once again.

"I'm sorry, Jessie," James offered, holding onto Jessie's shoulders in support. "The blood vessels in your extremities… they closed off back when you were in the water. Now you're in a warmer environment and you've got those wet clothes off, your blood vessels are opening again and blood is returning to your limbs… it will be quite painful," he said, though of course Jessie had already begun to realise this, and she let out another heaving sob of agony.

James carefully led Jessie over to where he had set down their packs, and bent down to rummage in his own pack before withdrawing his sleeping bag.

"Here, get in this," he ordered, and he helped her into the sleeping bag. Jessie leant on James as he helped her sit down to the ground, where she rested back against the cave wall with the sleeping bag pulled up tight around her neck. She still whimpered in pain, squirming as though there was some horrible toxin coursing through her veins.

"Try to keep wiggling your fingers and toes," James continued, "It won't help with the pain as such, but it'll speed up the overall process..."

Jessie looked up at James, and seemed to consider him for a moment before nodding and proceeding to wiggle her fingers and toes within the sleeping bag.

"Stay awake," James continued to direct as he crossed the cave back to the fire. "If you go to sleep now you might not wake up."

On that rather morose note James placed some water in a tin kettle over the fire, and started to go through Jessie's soaked pack while waiting for the water to boil. Jessie watched as he pulled out clothes, blankets, her sleeping bag – even food, that was all dripping wet.

"We're not going to get all of this dry tonight," James said, "so I'm just going to lay out the things that you'll need for the rest of the trip. Most of the food is ruined, but there is some stuff in packets that can be salvaged."

He laid out beside the fire some of the clothes that Jessie had had to borrow from Olivia, as well as her boots and snow gear, and a couple of blankets that had been in the pack. James returned to the fire where the kettle was beginning to boil. Before long he was back beside Jessie, holding out a warm mug of tea for her, which she willingly took.

"How are you feeling now?" James asked.

Jessie clasped the tea close to her chest, merely savouring the warmth the mug itself was giving off. The painful tingling sensations had finally subsided, yet she now felt weak and tired, and was having trouble abiding by James' order to stay awake.

"The pain is gone," she said quietly, and took a sip of her tea. "I'm still cold, though. And tired…"

James reached over and picked up the blanket that Jessie has dropped when climbing into his sleeping bag. He placed it over her, tucking it around the sides of the sleeping bag so that it didn't slip down off of her.

"Keep drinking your tea. I know you're tired, but you _must_ stay awake. At least for now. When you've recovered more you can rest, but not now."

James retrieved his last blanket from his pack, and also tucked this one around Jessie in much the same way as before.

Jessie looked up at him as he did this. "James… this is your last blanket. How are _you_ going to keep yourself warm?" She said, imparting no emotion.

He stood up after fixing the blanket around her and half-smiled. "Oh, I'll be fine. You're the one on the brink of hypothermia here, not me. I'll just throw a few more layers on," he said, and went back to his pack, took his thermal snow jacket off and pulled on two more thick woollen jumpers to prove his point. He dragged his jacket back on, and walked over to the fire to pour his own cup of tea before returning to settle next to Jessie.

Jessie looked to James questioningly as he sat right up against her.

"It's to keep you warm," James quickly defended, though appeared quite amused at Jessie's instant reaction to his closeness. "I'm really supposed to get in a sleeping bag with you with no clothes on, in order to share as much of my own body heat with you as possible. But I had this nagging feeling that you might object to that."

Jessie looked as though she didn't quite know what to make of James' statement.

"It's the honest truth," he reiterated. "Typical hypothermia treatment plan. Luckily for you you've really only got a very, very mild case of it – otherwise that sleeping bag would be getting rather crowded abut now."

James flashed a tongue-in-cheek smile at Jessie beside him. For a moment Jessie only seemed stunned by his words, but she soon turned her head away to hide what James thought he saw was a tiny flicker of a smile. The pair sat in silence, sipping on their tea and listening to the crackle of the flames before them. And yet there was surprisingly no air of hostility in the silence as there had been over the past couple of days. There was certainly an air of uncomfortableness, but the absence of hostility of unmistakable.

"I worked my ass off," Jessie suddenly said, seemingly out of the blue.

James turned his head to look at her, frowning confusedly. "What?" He replied, wondering whether he had misjudged Jessie's level of hypothermia and she had descended into a state of delirium.

"You asked me yesterday how I got into the Paramount Corps. scene," Jessie responded, and looked James in the eye. "And that's how I did it. I worked my ass off."

James stared at Jessie, unbelieving that she had actually noted the question he had asked her before their argument the previous night, let alone answered it properly. "Oh…" He managed to say; still not ready to comprehend the fact that Jessie appeared as though she was willing to converse normally.

"After… well, _you know_," Jessie continued, evidently wishing not to speak of the Team Rocket ordeal, "all I wanted to do was make something of myself. Start afresh and just be _successful_ for once. So I started at the bottom as a secretary of a small business in Saunders City. I worked hard day and night, taking on extra responsibilities and tasks. I gradually worked my way up, regularly switching jobs and businesses as I got promotions. And I eventually wound up as CEO of Paramount Corps. at the end of last year, where I've obviously been working ever since."

An incredulous expression transformed on James' face, not at Jessie's undoubtedly astounding achievement, but still at her decision to talk with him in a civil manner. He nodded in response to the explanation of her career success.

There was another moment of silence before Jessie spoke again.

"What about you? How did you become the… uh, head councilman of Fieldsville?"

"Me? Well, uh… Hm. I was actually working at the Police offices in Saunders City, when I met Sam – you met him at the Lodging House," James said, and Jessie screwed up her face at the mentioning of Sam. Her associations with him at the Lodging House had certainly never been friendly.

"He was working at one of the newspaper publishing companies in Saunders City at the time," James continued. "We became good friends, but Sam already had plans to move to Fieldsville. I decided I wanted a change of scenery, and ended up moving with him. There's no position for a Police agent in Fieldsville, so I joined the small council they had running instead. I was eventually elected head councilman. I guess… that's my story."

"Right," Jessie responded, only to be followed by another long bout of silence.

"Are you warming up?" James suddenly asked, realising that he had temporarily forgotten that Jessie had been close to drowning in a pool of freezing water only hours before.

"Mm. Thanks," Jessie said quietly.

James thought desperately of something else to say. He didn't want to waste this opportunity that Jessie was allowing for them to talk, but things still felt immensely awkward between the pair.

"So… what else have you done over the past seven years? Apart from working your ass off, I mean. Is there a Significant Other mourning your apparent death back in Saunders City? Any little Jessies wondering why their Mummy hasn't come home?"

Jessie snorted at James' last question. "Yeah, right. Would a prominent business figure like me have time for children? That goes for a Significant Other, too."

James raised his eyebrows. "I see."

"And what about you, James? Any wedding bells for you?"

Draining the last of his tea, James shook his head. "Afraid not."

"Not even lovely little Nurse Olivia?" Jessie asked, and looked to James almost smirkingly.

James frowned, unable to work out how Jessie had conceived any connection between himself and Olivia.

"Oh, please," Jessie drawled, rolling her eyes. "In the few times I saw you and her together, it was obvious that there's _something_ going on between you two."

James' brow creased. He had never realised, nor even contemplated such a thing could be so evident. "We were together, for while. But we broke up. And now… things are just… well, complicated," he sighed.

"Oh, of _course_," Jessie responded, a knowing expression playing across her features.

James was suddenly hit with a strong feeling of déjà vu. As Jessie playfully teased him in those few words, he realised that he was being reminded of their Team Rocket days.

"Jessie," he said in a serious tone. "I really am sorry for everything. I want you to understand that."

Jessie looked at James with contemplative eyes.

"But I also hope you understand that," James went on, "while I did lie to you all those years ago… you are throwing four-hundred people out of their homes now. I don't want to attack you or anything, but I just hope you understand – I'm not the only one with a black spot on their name."

Jessie turned away from James to stare ahead of her. For a moment James thought that she was going to explode in a fit of rage again, but perhaps her tired condition made her act otherwise. Whatever the reason, Jessie simply looked ahead and said in a soft voice, "I know."

It was a while before anyone spoke again. However, once James did eventually break the silence, conversation between Jessie and James continued unhindered for a long time. They did not speak in welcoming, open tones, nor did they appear good old friends jovially catching up on the years. The atmosphere was admittedly restrained, but Jessie and James talked of their new lives agreeably, and there were one or two genuine smiles elicited even by Jessie as the night progressed.

And once James had decided that Jessie's body had recuperated enough for her to sleep safely, both fell into a peaceful slumber by the fire that night that neither had experienced in a long time.

* * *

Another long chapter… and hopefully one that satisfied your needs to see J&J acting a little bit nicer toward one another! This one took a surprisingly long time for me to write, so I really do hope you're happy with it.

So tell me what you think, and drop me a review! If I can get to 100 reviews before next chapter, I will be immensely excited! And I will give you all free jellybeans! That's right – any flavour you want!

Well, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out as I'm going to be pretty busy this week. But it should be relatively soon. Really!

Till next time,

BansheeGirl.


	18. Seen Enough Now

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N:** Eeek! Sorry about the rather long wait for this chapter – my ability to write was unfortunately direly affected by the agonising wait for my Year 12 school results… I was so anxious I could hardly concentrate on anything! But I've received my results now, and passed with flying colours (go me!)… so it's back to writing! I'm estimating that there are about five or six more chapters to go (including this one), so you'd better start cherishing these updates… 'cos soon it all be done!

Anyway, please review once you're finished – I reached my goal of 100 reviews last chapter (thanks everyone!)… Let's see that magic again!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 18: Seen Enough Now**

For the first time on their hike from Fieldsville to Saunders City, Jessie and James were finally walking side-by-side. It may have been the fact that on this third day, the alpine surroundings were quickly becoming less dense, giving them room to comfortably walk two-abreast along the mountain path. However, both Jessie and James were well aware that the previous night's events probably had a lot more to do with their ability to now walk within at least five feet of one another.

They had woken that morning and set off as early as possible, with the hope of reaching Saunders City before night fell. Jessie no longer carried a pack – it had still been far from dry, and she wore the only clothes that had managed to dry by the fire overnight. Her wool-lined boots were still a little damp, but seeing as Jessie had brought no other footwear she had been forced to endure that slight discomfort. Otherwise James had insisted they leave everything that was still wet in the cave; they would not need them for the remainder of the journey and he could collect them once they had dried on his way back.

When James had made this comment as they left the cave that morning, Jessie had been momentarily struck by the realisation that after today, she probably would not be seeing much of James again. Especially not alone, like this. She could not discern whether this gave her an uneasy feeling or not. It was true that she had come to enjoy chatting with James the night before. At times she was even able to completely ignore the terrible mess that for so long had clouded their history together.

While Jessie and James had indeed been walking side-by-side since that morning, it had still taken a good hour before either had begun to talk. Jessie did not know the reason for James' initial silence; perhaps he merely dared not speak to her unless she first indicated she was open to conversation. For that first hour though, Jessie's mind had been rampant with a million different thoughts. Her heart instantly sped up with anxiety just at the thought of arriving back in Saunders City that night. How would everyone react? Jessie couldn't help but think that her apparent death wouldn't have had a disheartening effect on many people. The media indeed would have been _celebrating_ at the chance to report the story of her demise, and would undoubtedly continue their party once they discovered the whole situation had turned out to be a failed murder attempt that they could exploit on television, radio, magazines and the newspapers.

And then there was the murder attempt to think about. It almost seemed surreal to Jessie – that someone out there had actually tried to kill her. Every time she cast her mind back to the moments when the helicopter was plummeting to the ground her insides knotted and turned, and yet it was hard for her to connect those feelings to the deliberate actions of another human being. If you had a gun held to your head then you knew you were about to be murdered; being involved in a transport accident just didn't feel quite the same.

As Jessie now walked through the rapidly thinning snow, James talking by her side, she felt as though Saunders City and everything in it was a complete world away. So much had happened since meeting with James to first discuss the Fieldsville project a week beforehand. Jessie wondered whether it would even be possible to go back to the way things were… whether she _wanted_ things to go back to the way they were.

James fell silent beside Jessie, seeming to have come to the end of his explanation as to how and when the Crystal Mountains were formed, or something to that effect. Jessie had really only been half-listening for the past fifteen minutes, more simply taking comfort in the continuing hum of his voice while her train of thought drifted away. She had wanted to listen to what he had to say, but it was mid-afternoon now and Jessie felt that she could no longer hold off preparing herself for what was to come once they reached Saunders City.

"We can stop for a rest, if you'd like," said James, rousing Jessie from her reverie. Without waiting for an answer he had slowed to a halt and unshouldered his pack by a very large rock that towered just above his head. Jessie walked over to join him, and stood to lean back against the rock. It was warm with the afternoon sun, and she pressed her entire back against the rock to steal its heat.

"Tea?" James asked, and Jessie nodded. James made the tea with the hot water he had boiled that morning and carried in a thermos for the day's walk. Passing the steaming mug to her, they both leant back against the warm rock. Silently they sipped their tea, looking out at the landscape before them. To their left was the wintry wilderness from which they had come, and to their right Saunders City was just visible as a mass of blue buildings looming in the distance.

Jessie briefly glanced at James beside her. This very situation would be outrageously ridiculous to any outsider – here was a woman happily having a cup of tea with the head councilman of the village she was planning to demolish in a few short months' time…

And this brought her to the final problem that had been playing on her mind for quite a while now.

The Fieldsville project was just another of Paramount Corps.' endeavours. Another way to expand the company; another way to expand the company's bank account. Jessie hadn't even really cared about the project at all until her ex- Team Rocket partner had walked onto the scene. That had changed things. And so had her experience in Fieldsville, and the trek with James that followed it. Jessie struggled with the acknowledgement that her stance on the project had indeed itself changed. She was supposed to be a strong, inflexible businesswoman. That was how Jessie had achieved so much at such a young age. She was afraid that she would seem weak if she backed down from the project; that she'd lose her credibility as one of the most successful and powerful figures in Saunders City.

Jessie looked at James again, and sighed.

She might lose _some_ credibility. But how much would be lost if she _didn't _back down from the project? Four-hundred peoples' homes, four-hundred peoples' livelihoods, and the quiet, untouched peace and beauty of the Fieldsville area. Not to mention any remaining shred of peace that still existed between herself and James.

James suddenly looked sideways to Jessie, who was still gazing at him. Their eyes instantly met, and Jessie quickly looked away, smiling in an attempt to brush off the slight embarrassment she felt at James catching her staring at him. Jessie felt her cheeks burn, and for a moment believed that it was probably true that she'd lost credibility if such a simple thing could cause this flustered reaction.

"James," Jessie quickly said, half in an attempt to shake off the awkward moment, and half because if she didn't say what she was about to say now, she didn't know when or if she would have another chance to do so.

James looked to Jessie, his eyebrows raised in indication for her to go on.

With this Jessie realised that she didn't quite know how to go on. There was no easy way to say what she wanted say whilst retaining some sense of dignity. To go on would mean she would no longer hold control over the situation between herself and James. It took a moment for Jessie to quickly push these thoughts away, and she inhaled deeply before speaking again.

"I… I've been thinking. I've been… actually thinking a lot over the past few days," she said, and felt like throwing herself off the nearest mountain. She sounded like a complete moron who had never done any thinking in her life.

"Anyway," she continued, her eyes facing downward and wide with clear frustration. "I have reassessed several… several aspects of the plan to build a ski resort in place of the Fieldsville settlement. And… well, as a result of that reassessment," Jessie said, and finally looked up to face James, "I've decided to cancel the project."

James stared at Jessie, unmoving for a few good seconds. Then his facial expression morphed into a frown, and he inclined his head in puzzlement. "You've decided to… cancel the project? As in… _not_ level Fieldsville to the ground?"

Jessie did not respond for a second, as if she were reluctant to admit it. "Yeah. That's about it," she said, nodding.

She watched as James' eyes widened with utter astonishment. He looked away as if he were trying to process this announcement, and then turned back to Jessie.

"Wow. Jessie, I mean… just… Thankyou. Thankyou so much. You really have no idea how much this means to me. To everyone in Fieldsville," James said sincerely, his face displaying nothing but seriousness.

Jessie smiled weakly. "I have some idea."

James returned a smile at these words, and stepped back as if to look at Jessie in a completely new light. Jessie stood awkwardly, not quite knowing what to do next. She looked at James, who was still smiling, and still appearing quite dumbstruck. When he realised that Jessie was peering questioningly at him, he shook his head, and dipped down to pick up his pack.

"Right, let's get going, before you change your mind," he said, and started to walk off in the direction of Saunders City. Jessie pushed off from the rock that they had been leaning against, and as she jogged to catch up with him she heard James laughing quietly to himself.

"What's so funny?" She queried suspiciously.

James turned to her as they walked, and he beamed at her. Jessie realised that she hadn't seen him smile so earnestly since their days in Team Rocket.

"Nothing," James said. "I'm just happy, that's all."

* * *

Night had fallen. Having walked all the way to the outer suburbs of Saunders City, Jessie and James had encountered the opportunity to catch a bus into the city's centre. The pair had attracted more than a few odd glances as they sat down at the back of the bus, and they guessed that it wasn't simply the fact that they were looking rather worn after hiking for three days that this was so. It seemed that Jessie's 'death' was common news, and Jessie and James did their best not to draw further attention.

The bus rumbled through the darkness, and Jessie quietly spoke to James.

"There will be people to notify… I'll no doubt have to make a police statement, and not to mention make some sort of address to the media… I don't know how long it will all take. They'll all probably want to speak with you as well. I hope you don't mind…"

"Not at all," James immediately said. "I'd be happy to help."

Jessie smiled. She sat back into the leather bus-seat, and closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. "I'm so tired," she said. "All I want to do is have a shower and go to bed…" She groaned – despite being back in Saunders City, those luxuries were undoubtedly still hours away.

James sighed in agreement. "I usually stay at The Franklin hotel when I need to be in Saunders City for longer than a day. Do you mind if I call the hotel to make a booking when we get to your office?"

Jessie had her eyes closed again and had her head leaning back against the seat. Opening one eye, she spoke, "Don't be stupid. You can stay at my apartment; there's more than enough room."

"Jessie, I don't want to intrude or anything…"

"It's _fine_," Jessie said, sounding nonchalant. "It's a four-bedroom apartment, for crying out loud. You'll hardly be intruding. Plus…" She sat up, and opened both eyes. "I owe you _something_. You did save my life, remember."

James considered Jessie for a moment.

"I never thanked you for that," Jessie continued softly, almost timidly. "So… thankyou."

"Jessie, you don't have to thank me. And you don't owe me anything."

Jessie looked at James for a long time, before turning away to look out of the bus window. She really didn't know how to respond to that. Prior to the three-day trip with James, Jessie would certainly have agreed very much with his words. But now?

Silence followed until the bus reached the street upon which the Paramount Corps. skyscraper stood, and even then they stepped off the bus and began the short walk in total quietness. The pair unfortunately kept on getting into these awkward moments, no matter how casually they had come to speak at any other time.

Jessie and James finally reached the rotating silver doors of the Paramount Corps. skyscraper. Jessie stood for a moment before the doors, wishing that she did not have to face the onslaught of questions and all amount of other fuss that she was bound to experience over the next few hours. She glanced sideways at James, who reassuringly nodded for her to go in.

Taking a deep breath, Jessie stepped forward through the doors with her old friend close at her heel.

* * *

Woo! Your eighteenth (yikes!) chapter, finally done! I hope you enjoyed this chapter – I know there was a lot of 'thinking' that went on, particularly on Jessie's behalf, but I just think it's really important to make clear the characters' thoughts and emotions at this point of the story. 

Anyway, please hit me with your own thoughts in a nice, lovely review! Thanks to everyone who did so last time – you all rock! Oh, and for anyone who is interested, I've started a LiveJournal account… so head over to my profile page and click on the 'Home page' link if you want to check up on me every now and again! And if you've got jour own LJ account, feel free to Friend me!

I may not get another chapter out before December 25th, so I'll take this opportunity to wish everyone a merry Christmas! May you get lots of presents, give lots of hugs, and eat lots of food!

Well, till next time!

BansheeGirl.


	19. Kiss Me, Kill Me

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N:** Hiya everyone! I am _so_ sorry about the extremely long wait for this chapter! I really hope all of my readers are still out there, and haven't abandoned me in my writing absence! But like I promised, I will never forget about this fic – and so here you have your nineteenth chapter! Do enjoy, and don't forget that reviews are oh-so-lovely!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 19: Kiss Me, Kill Me**

Jessie and James pushed through the silver rotating doors into the enormous room of marble, metal and glass that was the Paramount Corps. building's foyer. Beside them an elderly attendant was slumped up against the marble wall, asleep; his snores teamed with the barely audible whir of the rotating doors were the only sounds that penetrated the crisp silence of the spacious foyer. Jessie glanced toward James before inclining her head in the direction of the elevators. Quietly they ascended a small flight of marble stairs and entered the nearest elevator, where Jessie swiftly tapped the electronic number panel. The elevator hummed with life, and began to rise.

"Who is still here at this hour?" James questioned, looking confusedly toward Jessie.

"The offices remain open until eleven o'clock at night, before everything is locked until morning. But there aren't many workers who ever stay so long. I wouldn't be surprised if we found the place empty," Jessie replied. She eyed James, who was looking rather ragged in his snow gear and still carrying his hiking pack. She looked down at her own weathered snow gear, and established that she too appeared extremely out-of-place in the pristine sophistication of the Paramount Corps. interior. Jessie doubted that the building had ever even hosted two people wearing such attire.

The elevator soon halted, and the doors opened at the large reception area of the Paramount Corps. offices. The pair moved out and across into the centre of the patterned marble floor where they slowed. Jessie watched James as he looked to her unsurely.

"Do you… uh, want me to come up with you? Or… should I just-"

"You can just wait over there, if you'd like," Jessie interjected, and pointed to the set of black leather chairs and coffee table at one corner of the room. "I won't be too long. I only have to make a couple of phone-calls, and collect some of my things. Then we'll undoubtedly have to make our way down to the media conference rooms to meet with the police and such."

"Right," James responded, and smiled awkwardly. Jessie felt rather awkward too. The idea of being by herself – even if it was only going to be for a few minutes – was suddenly a very strange concept after having been in constant company for the past three days.

"I'll be right back," Jessie offered quietly, and returned James a gentle smile. He nodded, and she turned her back on him and began to ascend a broad flight of stairs. James' footsteps could be heard echoing off the marble below as he followed Jessie's directions and took a seat in the corner of the reception area.

Just as Jessie had suspected, the rows and rows of worker's cubicles upstairs were completely devoid of any life. Taking an elevator up to her office floor, the emptiness continued into the slightly more lavish offices of Paramount Corps.' higher-ranked employees. Something about being back in this place sent a shiver up Jessie's spine, and she had an odd feeling that that something wasn't simply the eerie quietness of the normally busy environment.

Walking along the long, oak-panelled corridor that led to her office, Jessie thought of James waiting for her downstairs. Quite unexpectedly, she felt tears begin to prickle in her eyes, and she blinked furiously to hold them back. She sighed exasperatedly, and wondered how on earth her whole life had managed to turn completely upside down over the past week. She cast her mind back and realised that it had all begun with one thing: meeting James again after so many years spent trying to forget him.

Jessie abandoned the thought, establishing that she was too tired to deal with any of that right now. She was finally nearing the door to her office, and slowed cautiously as she noted that the door in fact was wide open. She supposed that it was not out of place for someone to have entered her office considering she was thought dead, but still she stepped into the doorway with care. The office was dark, save for the faint silver moonlight that filtered into the room through the glass wall to Jessie's left. The light reflected brightly off of the black leather of the long-backed chair behind her desk.

It also revealed that there was a person sitting in it.

Jessie lifted her hand and flicked the light switch on the wall beside her, illuminating the room. Wordlessly she stood glaring at the person sitting comfortably in her chair, while said person merely peered up at her, smiling in amusement.

"Hello Jessica."

Jessie remained silent as the figure stood up and circled around the desk to lean casually against the front of it.

"And how are you this fine evening?"

Jessie couldn't help but smile in a rather ironic manner. Everything surrounding the affairs of her attempted murder suddenly began falling neatly into place.

"How am I?" Jessie finally reiterated, and went on to answer the question, "Well, certainly not dead. Seems your little scheme failed, Michael."

The blonde-haired executive assistant laughed haughtily at Jessie's swift deduction of events. "Yes, indeed. I was _most_ unpleased to learn that you had survived the helicopter crash."

"I don't doubt it," Jessie replied coolly. She was determined on maintaining her poise, despite the anger that was mounting inside of her. _Michael_. She should have known. She scanned him up and down, and saw that he was holding no weapon. He continued to lean back against the front of the desk, arms casually crossed and merely smiling amusedly. Just what was he planning to do?

"The place has been in an uproar since your 'death', Jessica. You should be thankful that there has been someone reliable like me to step up and fill the position of CEO," Michael said smugly.

Jessie snorted derisively. "So that's the only way you can make it in the business world, is it Michael? By bumping off anyone who gets in your way?"

Michael raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"You're pathetic," Jessie spat.

"Oh, now come on Jessica. Don't be like that. Really, don't take this personally. I was simply presented with an opportunity to advance my position of power, and I took it. You can't really blame me for that, can you?"

"Don't take this _personally_? You want me dead, and I'm not supposed to take it personally," Jessie said as if to herself, in an attempt to try and make some sense out of this utter incredulity. "Not only are you pathetic, but it seems extremely dim-witted as well."

Michael sighed almost regretfully, and yet that haughty smile still played across his features. "Oh, Jessica. It's a treat hearing that acid tongue of yours again," he said condescendingly.

Jessie jerked her head back, and shot a scornful look at Michael. Never would he act so patronising toward her if he did not know that he was in control of the situation. As he suddenly took two steps toward her, Jessie stiffened at the ascertainment that things were about to get ugly.

"It has been lovely chatting again, my dear. But I'm afraid, Jessica," Michael began, as he took another two steps forward, "that we don't want to confuse everyone. How do you think the dear citizens of Saunders City will react if they find out you're alive, after mourning your confirmed death for a week? It's enough to make anyone's head hurt."

Jessie glared at Michael, aware that he was knowingly treading on sensitive ground. "No one is mourning my death," she uttered angrily.

The blonde-haired man grinned arrogantly once again. "That may be so. But nevertheless, I think it's best if the job is properly finished." He had pulled the long sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows, and peered at Jessie with an almost maniacal glint in his eyes.

The two stood only a couple of metres away now, and Jessie was quickly finding herself judging whether she would be able to make a dash out of the office doorway to escape. And yet, Michael seemed to be waiting for her to make that exact sudden movement as a signal for him to pounce.

Jessie racked her brain to think of something to say in order to distract Michael. It was in that moment, where Jessie chose to divert her attention to searching for a distraction, however, that Michael leapt forward.

Jessie let out an involuntary cry as Michael came forward to violently snag his arms around her neck. Before she could react she had been thrown to the floor, gagging at the blow to her windpipe.

She rolled onto her back, but Michael had dropped down to kneel on the floor; he pressed one knee down on Jessie's stomach whilst using the other to steady himself beside her. He grabbed both of her wrists with his hands and pinned them down above her head while Jessie struggled unrewardingly under his strength.

Michael leant out over Jessie, inching ever closer so that she could feel his hot breath on her face. "You know, I'm actually rather glad that you survived that helicopter crash, Jessica," he whispered in her ear, while Jessie squirmed in disgust. "You want to know why?" Michael continued, "Because this way I get to have a little extra fun with you before you're disposed of." And with that he leant in and placed a hot kiss on Jessie's ear.

As Michael had taken advantage of Jessie's brief moment of inattention before, Jessie seized this chance to muster every ounce of power she had to throw herself forward just enough so that she could hurl her knee up to slam straight into Michael's most sensitive region.

Michael did not have time to register Jessie's movements; she had rolled out from beneath him as he recoiled in pain at her attack. Jessie pushed herself up beside the floor-to-ceiling glass that comprised one wall of her office, breathing heavily and glancing around the room in attempt to attain some inspiration as to how she would get out of this mess. She was no longer trapped by Michael, and yet despite his current incapacitation he still remained between her and the only escape from the room.

"So… you want to play dirty, Jessica?" Michael offered as he stood up; he grinned hungrily at her, bending over slightly in order to relieve his manhood that was undoubtedly still throbbing with pain.

Jessie didn't move her eyes from Michael's as she leapt toward her desk, safeguarding herself on the side where the long-backed chair was positioned. Michael himself had also leapt forward, but found himself stuck on the opposite side of the desk to Jessie. Just as she had planned.

Michael slowly inched around the desk, but with every step he took Jessie followed suit, inching away from him so that they always remained the same distance apart. Michael continued to creep along the desk, back and forth, but never allowing Jessie so far that she could make a run for the door. At first he seemed amused at the game, but Jessie could see him soon become frustrated, and his grin was replaced with a determined look of anger.

When Michael stopped dead and stared wide-eyed at Jessie, she should have known that something was about to happen. But when Michael suddenly leapt right over the top of the desk, sending pens and papers flying everywhere, Jessie was indeed momentarily caught by surprise. As Michael skidded over the desk he flung an arm around Jessie's throat once again before she had a chance to move.

Jessie was pulled backward by the neck with the momentum of Michael's leap, and both of them hurled into the wall behind the desk. Michael's grip did not falter, and he rebounded off the wall, twisted and pushed Jessie up against the desk. Holding her in a headlock he pushed her head down onto the top of the desk, squeezing his arms tighter and tighter around her neck.

Jessie gripped onto the arm that Michael had fastened around the front of her neck, trying to prise it away so that she could inhale. Yet Michael's grasp was tight, and as her eyes watered she quickly fumbled around on the desk for something to use as a weapon. She let out an empty cry as her hands groped around to find nothing but a ballpoint pen, when finally something else came into reach. It was not the most suited item for the job, but it was the best she was going to find; she grasped it and flung it over her head to hit Michael square in the face with a stapler.

The force of the stapler was more than Jessie had anticipated – Michael immediately released his grip on her neck and fell back against the wall to their right, clasping his hands to one of his eyes. Jessie steadied herself against the desk gasping painfully for much-needed air.

Still fallen down against the wall, Michael removed his hands from a bloodied eye. He looked down to the blood on his hands, and then up to Jessie with an indignant glare on his face.

"You bitch," he spat, and pushed up from the wall toward her again.

This time Jessie was ready. She grabbed the handle of the top drawer in her desk, and swiftly pulled the whole drawer out. Notepads and other pieces of paper flung out onto the floor, while Jessie used all her force to swing the whole draw around to come straight into contact with the side of Michael's head. And just like that, her executive assistant slumped to the floor, unmoving.

Jessie dropped the drawer that was still in her hands; her ragged breaths were the only sounds in the suddenly quiet room. She gazed down at Michael's unconscious body, and after several moments let out a few tearless sobs at having just endured – and amazingly made it through – such an ordeal. In reality it had only lasted a few minutes, and yet to Jessie it had seemed eons ago that she arrived at her office door.

Wanting to get away as soon as possible, she crept around the desk, walking backwards toward the door just so that she could keep her fixed eyes on Michael. Just in case.

Jessie extended her arms outward, so that her hands came into contact with the doorframe when she eventually made it to the door. She heaved a sigh of relief at finally having made it to the point of escape. Looking at her attacker one last time, Jessie made to turn around to flee along the corridor. But something hard and cold suddenly pressed up against the back of her neck, and she reactively stiffened. The unfriendly sound of the safety catch being released on a handgun confirmed Jessie's immediate fear that this ordeal in fact was far from over.

A frighteningly familiar voice came from behind her.

"Get back in that room."

* * *

Oh, dear – my first update in who knows how long, only to leave you on a cliff-hanger? I apologise. Actually, no I don't.

/grins evilly/

Anyway, I really will try and update very soon. I don't think I could stand leaving you hanging for too long! Please leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter/story, I do likes them so very much! And big hugs to everyone who reviewed last chapter! You all really make this worth my time.

Well, till next time!

BansheeGirl.


	20. We Used To Be Friends

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N: **I am alive! Hurrah! I have no idea why I decided to write this chapter during the start of the busiest time of the university semester… But I did! And I hope you are all grateful:D

Anyway… BIG apologies for the _extreme_ wait for this chapter. I know it has been just so long since the last instalment of this fic, and I really hope you're all still interested enough to keep going! This fic _will_ eventually be finished, trust me!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 20: We Used To Be Friends**

"Sir. Sir, wake up. Please!"

James groaned as he was suddenly bombarded with the sensation of consciousness. Colours danced in his eyelids as he automatically squeezed them shut to try and block out the shooting pain coming from the back of his head, and he did his best to will away the annoying prodding that seemed to keep pressing in at his side.

"Sir, wake up!"

James' entire body jolted at the ringing voice beside him, and he was aware suddenly of the cold marble floor he lay sprawled upon, aware of the bulky snow gear he was wearing, and still excruciatingly aware of the throbbing pain in his head. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and instantly regretted doing so after having to clench his teeth tightly to keep from crying out as his head spun in agony.

"Sir, are you alright? What happened?"

Forcing his eyes open, James finally looked sideways to register the young man kneeling beside him. The boy had a panicked expression plastered across his face, and James stared up at him confusedly for several moments.

"What happened?" The boy repeated nervously.

James's gaze fell back down to the floor. What _did_ happen? The effort to suppress the pain pulsating in his head in order to actually remember seemed too much. But he tightly shut his eyes again, trying to go back…

Like a flood all memory abruptly poured back into mind; all events of the past week fell down upon James like a great, wild torrent. Jessie – crimson-haired Jessie, Team Rocket Jessie, Jessie with the temper, Paramount Corps. Jessie, Jessie-who-was-going-to-destroy-his-hometown-but-decided-not-to… he had come here with _Jessie_, and she had left him to go upstairs. He had waited, and waited, and when she didn't return he had gone to start up the stairs to find her… And then something… _someone_ was suddenly behind him… His vision had shot red with pain as something hard came down against the back of his head….

And then everything had turned black.

Dread instantly seeped from the pit of James' stomach through every vein in his body, and his face morphed to mimic the younger boy's expression of panic. Ignoring his throbbing head, James pushed himself up to stand while the still-clueless boy anxiously followed suit.

James turned to the boy. "You, what's your name?" He pressed, urgently.

"Bernard! My name's Bernard. What's going-"

"-Where is Jessica Avalon's office? You need to take me there right now."

Bernard stared up at James, apparently utterly confused.

"_Where is her office!" _James cried impatiently, making Bernard flinch.

"This way," the boy instantly conceded, and quickly began to ascend the broad set of marble stairs beside them. James keenly followed, the adrenaline pumping through his body rapidly masking the pain in his head. The pair ran through rows upon rows of worker's cubicles, before swiftly entering an elevator where Bernard swiped an identification card over a small panel and ordered the lift upward.

James drummed his fingers with annoyance against the elevator wall as it slowly made its ascent. He looked to Bernard, who was apprehensively standing opposite him.

"What's going on?" Bernard asked quietly.

James sighed, because the answer to such a question was a convoluted one indeed. "Someone hit me over the head down there and knocked me out. I think it's the same person who tried to kill your boss."

Bernard's confused expression did not change. "...What? Miss. Avalon? What do you mean, _tried_ to kill her? She's-"

"She's not dead. She survived the helicopter crash, and she's here in this building right now. But if I'm right about the person who hit me before – and I don't know why anyone else would try to knock me out – then Jessie is in big trouble."

Still slightly confused-looking, and with a little more terror infused into his expression, Bernard finally looked as though he understood the situation enough to at least cooperate effectively. Before anymore could be said, the elevator promptly stopped, the doors opened and the two men eagerly stepped out into the new floor. Bernard made to run along a long oak-panelled corridor that stretched out before them, but James grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Is her office at the end of this corridor?"

"Yes, come on!"

James firmly held Bernard back again, and the young man looked up questioningly.

"What's wrong? Let's go! I thought you said Miss. Avalon was in trouble!"

"You have to go call the Police. Get them here, quick. I'll go on ahead and help her," James ordered.

"But… I need to help her too!"

"You _are_ helping!" James cried, "Now go!"

Bernard looked hesitant, but dashed away down a small side corridor to the right. James himself sprang forward to sprint down the main corridor before him. As he ran he felt his stomach tense sickeningly. What would he find when he arrived at Jessie's door? Perhaps she would be perfectly okay… but then what was taking her so long to come back downstairs? James pushed all imaginings out of his mind as he finally neared the end of the corridor. He could see the door to Jessie's office, and it was wide open…

Slowing, James cautiously stepped into the entranceway.

He peered into the lit room.

What he saw sent everything James knew crashing down around him.

Slumped against the wall beside Jessie's large desk was Michael – the executive assistant that had shown James to this very office on his visit here the previous week. The blonde-haired man was unmoving and bleeding from the head. But this was hardly the shock that was violently coursing through James' body. Not even the fact that Jessie was being bent over the front edge of her desk with a gun wedged down upon her neck could compare to the shock of just _who_ was holding the said gun.

"_Olivia_?"

The girl snapped her head up to look at James, who still stood in the doorway. She looked stunned at his arrival, but her expression quickly transformed into annoyance and then a strange sort of forced calm.

"James," she replied in a surprisingly amiable tone.

James looked down at Jessie, who was straining her neck to look up at him. His insides turned as Olivia responded by forcefully pushing Jessie's face back down onto the desk. His years in the Police Force had led him to become painfully aware of just how easy it is to fire a gun; just how easy it is to bring an end to someone's life with a mere flick of a finger. This was a dangerously delicate situation.

"Olivia, what are you doing?" James pressed quietly.

"I'm saving our _town_, that's what I'm doing!"

James quickly fell silent at this unexpected eruption from Olivia, and he could hear the blood pumping in his ears as he frantically tried to size up the situation. Olivia was obviously in the position of power, and he had absolutely no idea what her reasoning was, nor how she even came to be in Saunders City in the first place. How could this be _Olivia_? The kind nurse from Fieldsville appeared to have evaporated and James felt himself struggling to deal with this metamorphosis. He looked down again to Jessie who lay pinned underneath the loaded gun, and his mind suddenly screamed just one thing: _save her_.

"Olivia, please. This isn't you. You don't have to do this. Jessie has already decided to cancel the Fieldsville project… This isn't necessary…"

"Oh, _come on_," Olivia cried. "You don't _actually_ believe her, do you? She doesn't give a shit about Fieldsville. As soon as you came back home she would have just gone on with the whole thing anyway. This is the only way, James. It was never going to happen any other way."

James' head spun. "You were behind this all along?"

Olivia laughed coldly. "Of course I was! Nobody else seemed to be doing anything that was _actually_ going to work, so I took matters into my own hands… With a little help from our power-hungry executive assistant over here, of course," Olivia said, motioning her head toward Michael's limp form. "He doesn't seem to be of much use now, though."

"What? How did you-"

"-Please, James. Don't tire me with your futile questions. I did this for Fieldsville! I did it for you – for you and me. You should be grateful…"

A menacing glimmer flickered in Olivia's eyes, and she pushed the gun down further into Jessie's neck. James' insides twisted again and he prayed that Olivia kept her finger still.

"Please, Olivia. Nothing good can come out of this. Do you think you'll be living safe back in Fieldsville if you go through with this? You'll be thrown straight into jail, and you know it," James pleaded. He wanted to scream to her, ask her how she had managed to pull off this entire deception, but he was so frightened to say anything that might enrage her enough to pull the deadly trigger.

"No I won't," Olivia knowingly smiled, "Because you're not going to tell anyone it was me. I'm doing you a _favour_ James! Don't you understand?"

"No, I don't! You looked after Jessie back in Fieldsville… you nursed her back to health! How can you stand here now with a gun to her head?"

"I didn't even know that it was _her_ that night, until you came back and told us. For all I knew it was one of the goons that Michael hired to carry out the helicopter crash. And then when you decided to let us all in on the fact that you and her were _buddies_… well, things just got a little bit more complicated than I had expected. Playing along with everything just seemed like the best thing to do..." Olivia finished her explanation with a tone that resounded utter boredom.

James' mind sped up in order to both process this almost unbelievable information, and also to attempt to conjure more conversation that would continue to stall Olivia. She seemed to be growing tired of him, and that certainly was not a good thing.

"Olivia-"

James' words were cut off abruptly as Olivia suddenly cried out in shrill pain. The raven-haired girl recoiled away from the desk, clutching her thigh tightly and consequently releasing Jessie from her power.

James took a few short moments to realise what had gone on – but there, protruding grossly from Olivia's thigh was a letter-opener. Jessie must have deftly been feeling around on her desk for some such weapon to use while Olivia was preoccupied talking to James, and taken this chance instant to make her escape. But before he could think any more Jessie grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the doorway into the corridor.

"Come on!" She screamed frantically, and James didn't have to be told again as they sprinted away down the corridor.

Shots fired: one, two, and three behind them, each bullet not hitting its target but slicing into the oak-panelled walls on either side. Jessie shrieked as two more shots were let off, and James knew that they'd be dead if they stayed in this open corridor any longer. Chancing an open archway to his right, he seized Jessie by the wrist and pulled her into what turned out to be a very large office with four or five desks inside.

"Get underneath that desk, and stay there!" James commanded Jessie.

"What? What about you!" Jessie cried in between panting breaths.

"_Just do it!_" James yelled back, sick of people questioning his orders tonight. He was once a special agent in the Police Force. He _knew_ what he was doing.

For the most part.

Jessie grudgingly dove around behind one of the desks, while James picked up a tall lamp that stood on the floor beside the archway entrance. Pressing himself up against the wall beside the entrance, he listened carefully as Olivia's angry footsteps thudded nearer and nearer. This was going to be all about timing. He readied himself as he heard the attacker's heated breath approach closer.

Olivia stepped through the entranceway – too late aware of James, who swung the lamp down to connect with her shins. The girl fell forward with her own momentum, sprawling on the floor and sending her gun flying forward on the carpet in front of her.

James dove.

Olivia scrambled.

Both reached each other before they reached the gun, and they clawed and scratched at one another in order to get to the weapon first.

"_Let go_ ofme!" Olivia screamed, and hauled herself up onto James with rampaging strength. She brought her hands down to squeeze around his neck, and dug her knee painfully down into his chest. "I didn't want to have to hurt you, James. You know I care for you, but you made me do this," she hissed.

James tried to use one hand to prise her hands away from his neck, and the other to claw around above his head to see if he could reach the gun. But his vision was beginning to blacken, and he suddenly regretted telling Jessie to stay put beneath the desk…

And then unexpectedly, Olivia made a sharp gasping noise. Her grip loosened, and as James' vision swiftly clarified he saw her look down at her shoulder to find a tiny dart sticking out. A tranquiliser. She stared at it for several seconds, as if her profound disbelief would make the little thing disappear. But her eyelids quickly began to droop, and Olivia peered back down at James beneath her. She forced herself to at least shoot him one last look of annoyed defeat.

"Fine, you win," she rasped. "But… Just so you know… I wasn't the only one from Fieldsville who betrayed you. Think about that, James…"

And on that note, she collapsed down on top of James, revealing the Policeman standing in the doorway who had arrived just in time to shoot the tranquiliser. In a blur of uniform and loud voices more Police entered the room, some whom which pulled the unconscious Olivia away and fussed over James while others appeared to be tending to Jessie. As James was sat up he saw even more rush past down the corridor toward Jessie's office, undoubtedly to deal with Michael.

"Hey, mister. Excuse me, mister? Can you tell me your name? Can you tell me what has happened here?"

James clenched his eyes shut, blocking out the Policeman trying to interrogate him. His head had begun to throb again, and he was oh-so-tired… Too much had just happened, too much for his aching head to deal with…

"Mister, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," James finally responded, if only to make the Policeman's voice stop ringing in his ear. The man peered down at James sceptically.

"I'm going to go fetch a medic," he said, and dashed off quickly. James sighed. It seemed the night was far from over.

Still sitting on the floor, he wearily looked around the office. The Police Force members seemed to be multiplying rapidly, and he searched through the sea of uniforms to find a blaze of crimson hair across the other side of the room. She was sitting down in a chair and being questioned by several Policemen and Policewomen. She looked as tired as he felt, but safe nonetheless.

As if she knew he was looking at her, Jessie averted her gaze from the nearest cop to James. They looked to one another wordlessly, expressionlessly, as if the night's events had drained them both of everything. And then Jessie gave a brief, if very weak smile, before turning back to the cop.

Yes, the night was far from over.

* * *

Sorry to bring things to a halt, folks, but I gotta end things there for the moment. This is the longest chapter yet, so I hope it ties you down for a little while! There is still more to come (you'll love, and also possibly hate what I've got in store for the next chapter… hee!), so do stay tuned! Thanks so much for sticking with me this far, I do loves you all so much! Hugs to everyone:)

Well, till next time…

BansheeGirl.


	21. Moth and Flame

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N: **Hiya all! It's me, I'm back, and so is MFoLaC! I'm on mid-year break at the moment, so I have six glorious weeks off to write the rest of this story! Well, that's the plan anyway. Let's see if I can stick to it! The lookout is good at the moment… I'm already bored out of my brains and it's only been five days! I need –something- to fill in the time!

Anyway, I'm glad you've stuck around for the ride. This is only a short chapter, but you should like it. Read on, and enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 21: Moth and Flame**

Jessie slid a small golden key into its lock, and with a swift flick of her wrist opened the white door that was the entrance to her expensive apartment. She flipped the light-switch to her right, and the large sitting area that first greeted any visitors to the apartment was instantly illuminated. She stood and looked in at her home for a few silent moments, before sighing and walking in.

"This is a nice place," came a voice from behind Jessie.

She looked around, spying James who was still standing in the doorway eyeing off her apartment. "Would you like a cup of tea?" She asked, too tired to talk about trivialities like architecture or interior decorating.

James looked to Jessie and nodded tiredly. "Yes. Thankyou."

"Please sit down," Jessie said, gesturing to some couches and armchairs in the middle of the room, "I won't be a minute." Her voice resonated with utter exhaustion.

She ducked up a tiny flight of polished wooden stairs that led into her kitchen, and she again stopped in the archway-entrance to look at the room for a few moments before moving in. It was so strange to be back _here_, in her apartment, making cups of tea. Jessie found it almost surreal, as if the events of the past few hours – of the past _week_ hadn't even happened. She was so _tired_… and yet there were so many things that she wanted to think about.

Carrying two cups of hot tea, Jessie made her way back out to the sitting area to sit beside James on one of the couches. She carefully handed him one of the cups, and did her best to ignore the sudden leaping feeling deep down in her stomach when they brushed hands in doing so.

"How is your head?" She asked quickly.

"Still a little tender, but much better. Thankyou," he replied, smiling. Both Jessie and James had undergone extensive medical examinations and received the appropriate treatments for their pain and injuries before being released. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. Just tired. And I'm sorry you had to go through all that media rubbish…" Jessie apologised, the sincerity genuine in her voice. Not only had the pair undergone briefings with the police, but they had also had to make a short media statement before finally being given the green light to go home and get some rest. Jessie felt intensely guilty for getting James mixed up in such a long ordeal, but at the same time she was infinitely grateful for his presence.

"Don't be," said James, as he took a quick sip of his tea.

The pair sat wordless for several minutes. Jessie kept shooting furtive glances sideways, wanting to say so many things but unable to find a way to voice them. It seemed ridiculous that they had both just come so close to death and yet hadn't really talked about it at all. Was James thinking the same thing?

"Thankyou… for tonight. Thankyou for everything, really. For bringing me here," Jessie finally offered, breaking the silence.

James turned to face Jessie, and audibly swallowed. "You're welcome," he said softly, and smiled. His expression was tired, but genuine. Yet there was an inkling of something else, right there tugging at the corners of his mouth… Guilt? Remorse? He turned away and stared down at the ground before Jessie could discern.

Jessie set her empty teacup on a coffee table in front of them. This was it. She was suddenly regretting offering him a bed to sleep in at her apartment. The whole week had been building up to _this_ moment, without either of them even knowing it. Jessie felt her palms moisten at the realisation that there would very soon be the dreaded _confrontation_. She wracked her mind for something to say that would divert James' attention; that would distract him so that maybe they could avoid this for now…

"I'm sorry… about Olivia," Jessie started, "It must be hard to be betrayed like that…"

And there, even as Jessie tried to redirect the conversation onto something completely unrelated and entirely distracting, she had brought the very core of their problem to surface. _Betrayal_. And James caught hold of it instantly.

He swiftly jerked his head sideways again to look at her, a pained look on his face.

"Jessie, I'm sorry. I can't tell you enough how sorry I am, and how much I regret lying to you all those years ago in Team Rocket. I'm sorry. I am," he implored, staring hard into her eyes.

Jessie felt her face grow hot. _I don't want to do this_, she thought, wanting to escape. Sure, they had talked about this before on their trek to Saunders City. But that was when she was the enemy. It was when she was _angry_. She was still angry now, but things had changed. So many things had changed - so much had happened in just a few days…

"I-" Jessie croaked, but turned her head away from James when she felt a sting of tears in her eyes.

"Jessie," James said firmly, and reached out to turn Jessie's head back to face him. His hand stayed there, cupped against the side of her head, while Jessie fought inwardly with herself to choke back her tears and actually say something. She needed to defend herself. _Don't give in_.

"James… Don't. Please," she said shakily through gritted teeth.

"Jessie, if I could go back in time I would, but I can't! Lying to you is the one thing that I regret _every_ single day of my life… how else can I prove that to you?" James cried in a frustrated tone that contrasted with the hand that softly slid down the side of Jessie's face to slide gently around her neck.

Jessie took a sharp intake of breath at James' touch, but it didn't stop her from bringing her own arm up to remove his hand from her neck. James persisted, however, and responded by grasping hold of her arm and sliding his hand down to hold hers tightly.

"James, _please_…" Jessie pleaded, more tears welling in her eyes.

"Jessie, you have to believe me. Please believe me," he said quietly, and leant in closer so that their faces were almost touching. "Please."

A tear rolled down Jessie's cheek. "You hurt me, James," she whispered coarsely. "I don't want to be hurt. I don't want to…"

"I won't hurt you, Jessie," James whispered in reply, their noses touching now. "I promise…"

And with that, he closed the gap between them and touched his lips tenderly on Jessie's. Jessie's body seized and she made to pull away, but James rapidly used his free hand to snake around her waist and encircle her tightly. She was trapped – or was she finally free? Free of all the pain that had eaten away at her for the past seven years? Whatever it was, Jessie suddenly and unexpectedly relaxed. She let go of everything, and leant into James. She melted into a kiss that had been waiting for so long.

James unlocked the hand that was holding one of Jessie's, and slid it up the side of her upper leg. Even through the thick material of her snow pants, the touch sent a sensation right through her body that landed itself tinglingly between her thighs. She kissed him harder.

It seemed the night was still far from over.

* * *

And I think I'll leave it there, kiddies! I have to leave something to your wonderful little imaginations…

I hope you liked this chapter – heck, you've finally got overt rocketshippy goodness! What more could you want? Let me know what you think in a review, and I'll do my best to get the next chapter out soon!

Till next time,

BansheeGirl.


	22. Tomorrow, A Broken Promise

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N: **Hiya all! Yup, here is the next chapter for you – freshly baked for your enjoyment! And this is an outstandingly fast update (for me, anyway!), no? Hallelujah for the holidays :D

Read on, enjoy, and please review when you're done! Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 22: Tomorrow; A Broken Promise**

**

* * *

**

It took a moment for Jessie to orient herself as her eyes flickered open to meet the soft light of morning. For a few seconds the room seemed foreign, and the huge wooden bed she lay in felt unfamiliar – as did the crisp white sheets that enfolded her. The sound of running water, however, suddenly brought everything into perspective. This was _her_ house. _Her_ room. _Her_ bed. And the person showering in the en-suite bathroom next door was _her_ guest.

Jessie turned her head on the pillow to look at the spot beside her in the bed. It was empty, but looking distinctly messed. She extended her arm and ran the back of her hand over the crumpled sheet. It was still warm. A small smile involuntarily transformed on Jessie's face.

Jessie closed her eyes and cast her mind back to the night before. Ignoring everything that had happened at Paramount Corps., she focussed in on the moment when James had first kissed her. Oh yes – she had tried to resist, but it was not long at all before she let down her defences and succumbed to his advances. And taking into consideration the series of pleasurable events that had quickly taken place afterward… Well, Jessie was now finding herself very happy with the fact that she hadn't been able to resist…

A fluttering feeling seemed to have permanently nestled itself within Jessie's stomach. Her mind felt as though it had just received an extremely concentrated injection of _James_ – try as she might she could think of nothing else but the man showering in her en suite bathroom. It felt so long since Jessie had ever felt like this, and she never wanted the feeling to end. She wanted to reach out and _grab it_, hold it tight and never let it go.

The feeling was making Jessie restless. She looked to the en suite door, wondering whether she should go and join James in the shower. Or would that perhaps seem too bold? Deciding against it (for now), Jessie climbed out of bed and slipped a pink satin dressing-gown over her naked flesh. Fastening the gown, she left the room and headed for the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee.

As she passed through the sitting room on her way to the kitchen, Jessie spied the little amber light on her answering machine flashing profusely. For the first time that morning Jessie's bubble of happiness was interrupted, and she found herself sighing angrily. She cautiously walked over to the answering machine and looked down at the digital display panel. _93 messages_. Jessie groaned.

Today was hardly going to be the warm, fuzzy day with James that she had ignorantly envisioned. There were going to be press conferences to be held, interviews to attend, and so much business to address at Paramount Corps. that Jessie felt a headache coming on at just the thought of it. She wanted to scream.

There, balling her hands into angry fists, gritting her teeth tightly together and otherwise utterly seething, Jessie was very suddenly shocked back into the present at the sound of hurried knocking at her front door. She swiftly made her way to the entrance, angrily contemplating whether it was going to be some irritating reporter, or perhaps an equally annoying Paramount Corps. associate. She peered through the small glass spyhole in her door, revealing a hard-faced female figure standing on the other side. Jessie sighed in exasperation. It was Sarah Morrison – Paramount Corps.' chief media coordinator.

Jessie desperately wanted to simply ignore Sarah and walk away from the door and go back to bed. Go back to James. But as the media coordinator rapped against the door again, Jessie clenched her teeth and gave in. She swung the door open.

"Sarah, please-"

"Jessica, what have you been doing? I left three messages on your answering machine this morning," the other woman interjected, and brushed past Jessie to walk into the apartment. She was holding a large briefcase in one hand.

Jessie closed the door behind Sarah, and sighed submissively. "I was sleeping, Sarah. I've had a big week, in case you hadn't heard. Can't this wait? Can't I have a few days' rest before we get into all this?"

Sarah eyed Jessie with an almost sympathetic expression, before setting down her briefcase on the back of one of the couches in the sitting room. "That's not what I'm here for, I'm afraid," Sarah replied in her distinctive gravelly voice. "You're going to want to look at this," she continued, and held out a folded newspaper for Jessie to take.

Jessie looked at the newspaper, puzzled, before finally reaching out and taking it.

"It's today's Times," Sarah said, as Jessie unfolded the newspaper.

Jessie's eyes settled on the front page, and her insides instantly sunk.

* * *

James stepped out of Jessie's en suite bathroom, clad in a pair of jeans and shirt that he'd brought along with him to Saunders City in his backpack. Jessie appeared to have left her bed, much to James' disappointment. He had rather been looking forward to snuggling up with her for a few more hours. He was confident, though, that he could convince her to return to the bedroom, and headed out of the bedroom to find her. He hadn't expected to find her with a woman who was dressed in a business suit in the sitting room, holding what seemed to be a newspaper and looking like she was suddenly very ill.

At the sound of James' footsteps both Jessie and the other woman lifted their heads to spot him advancing from across the room. James looked straight to Jessie, whose eyes appeared to be glistening with the hint of tears. She seemed completely lost. He slowed as he neared the pair of women, and looked at Jessie with a questioning expression.

"You must be Mr. Morgan," the other woman inserted, her voice stinging with accusation. James turned his head to her, his heart suddenly quickening at the feeling that something was very wrong.

"What's-"

"-You _bastard_," Jessie interrupted him, her words jolting James like he had just been electrocuted.

James felt his face morph into an expression of utter, panicked confusion. What had happened? How had things turned around so suddenly?

"Jessie, please. I don't even know what is going on!"

The other woman scoffed loudly, and James found himself very annoyed that she was there. He ignored her, and instead stayed focussed on Jessie in front of him.

Jessie's nostrils flared in blatant anger. "_Don't_ _give me that bullshit, James!_" She cried. "You know _exactly_ what is going on!"

"Jessie, I'm sorry – I have no idea what you are talking about!" James exclaimed, wishing Jessie would calm down. Things were becoming scarily reminiscent of their fights before.

Jessie responded by shoving the newspaper she was holding hard into his stomach. James winced and reflexively grabbed hold of the newspaper, and looked confusedly at his angry ex-colleague.

"Perhaps that will refresh your memory," Jessie spat.

James looked down at the front page of the newspaper. Hesitantly, he began to read the article:

**PARAMOUNT CORPS.' INHUMANE SCHEME UNCOVERED**

_DESPITE last night's shock discovery of Paramount Corps. CEO Jessica Avalon's survival of several counts of attempted murder, _The Saunders City Times _has been given an exclusive insight into the multi-billion-dollar company's cruel plans to demolish an entire township located in the Crystal Mountains. _

_Head Councilman of Fieldsville, James Morgan, alerted _The Saunders City Times_ of Avalon's company's deceitful intentions to destroy the homes of four-hundred innocent residents in order to create building ground for a new ski resort. The town leader himself was only informed of the plans earlier this week, and was left to deliver the devastating news to the people of Fieldsville._

_"We were given no option, and outrageously below-par compensation. Paramount Corps. is a bully organisation that will go to any measure to make a quick buck, and this time it is four-hundred peoples' livelihoods that is being compromised," said Morgan in a media statement. "We cannot stand for this kind of atrocity."_

_This revelation has sparked controversy as to the legitimacy of many of Paramount Corps.' other projects and operations. Avalon's problems seem far from over – an official investigation into the company's affairs is already in motion to take place over the next few weeks. Story cont. pg 3._

James stared down at the paper in his hands, his head spinning. The words danced to and fro, taunting him. He wanted to rip the paper up, make the words disappear, and yet all he could do was stand and stare.

He had forgotten.

Amidst all the chaos of Jessie's arrival in Fieldsville, and the task of bringing her back to Saunders City and everything in between, James had completely forgotten about filing a feature story for The Saunders City Times about Paramount Corps.' plans. Using the media was going to be his way of standing up to Paramount Corps. He had been at the council offices faxing the story off during the very time in which the unconscious Jessie had been brought to the Lodging House from the helicopter wreck. And he had forgotten about it all.

"Jessie, I… I-" James stammered, not knowing quite what to say.

Jessie glared at James. "You knew about this the _whole_ time. The whole time! And you never said a _thing_," she scowled.

"Jessie, you have to understand. I _did_ file that feature story. I was trying to protect my town! But I just forgot about it! I completely-"

"-Oh please!" Jessie cried, her anger flaring higher. "You _lied_ to me James. You lied to me again, even though you said you wouldn't."

James stood agape. He could hear blood rushing in his ears. Everything was wrong. This wasn't how things were supposed to happen. He had fixed things. After seven painful years, he had finally been able to reconcile with Jessie. And now it was all falling apart. Again. And he had the dreadful feeling that there would be no reconciliation a second time.

"I never meant to hurt you, Jessie," he said weakly.

Jessie exhaled heavily, as though she were holding back a sob. She quickly took a deep breath, however, and narrowed her eyes spitefully at James.

"You have _no_ _idea_ how much damage you've done, James," she hissed, leaning in close so that he could see the angry tears threatening to spill out of her stony eyes.

James looked at Jessie – close enough to reach out and embrace, and yet so far away now that he doubted whether he would ever be able to reach her again. _You have no idea how much damage you've done_. He didn't want to think about how much damage he'd done. He couldn't care less about the damage done to Paramount Corps. He had the feeling that Jessie hadn't been referring to the damage done to her company, anyway…

"I'm sorry-"

"-Get out. Now," Jessie suddenly spat, taking James somewhat by surprise.

He stood unmoving for a few moments, before the other woman – who had since been standing wordlessly beside him and Jessie – put her hand firmly on his shoulder. James tore his gaze away from Jessie to look into the woman's hard face.

"Miss. Avalon has just told you to leave. _Now leave_," she ordered.

James recoiled from the woman, clutching his shoulder where she had been digging her fingers hard into his skin. He looked pleadingly to Jessie again, but she was resilient in her malicious glare.

He gave in.

Submission seemed the only option. He didn't want to believe it, but there was nothing he could do. Quickly ducking down to retrieve his battered backpack from beside one of the couches, James headed for the door. He stopped with his hand on the golden doorhandle, and turned back to look at Jessie one last time. She wasn't facing him.

"Goodbye," he offered, and waited a few moments for a reply. There was none.

James couldn't help but slam the door behind him in frustration.

* * *

Should I… uh, be expecting death threats from you guys anytime soon?

-is scared-

I'm sorry! I know everyone was happy that J&J had finally gotten it on… But I guess this is drama for you! Heh, heh…

Anyway. There is still more to come, so never fear! Stick with me, and you'll never go hungry again! Oh – hang on… that doesn't sound right…

Till next time, my dears!

BansheeGirl.


	23. Not Finished Just Yet

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N: **Hullo my dears… This is not the last chapter, as I had previously speculated. This is in fact a very short _second last_ chapter. I just felt that the end of this section was a good place to divide things, so yeah. I do hope you continue to enjoy the story, and please do review to let me know what you think!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 23: Not Finished Just Yet**

The glass skyscrapers of Saunders City glinted in the afternoon sun. The city was tinted in orange and gold; every building, every road, every moving car and truck and motorcycle and person seemed to be opening up to soak in the rare winter warmth. High above the city, a woman stood in her office looking out over the life below her. She had been spending a lot of time lately, beside the window that comprised an entire wall of her office, simply staring out into the distance. She never looked at anything in particular. Mostly she pretended to look out the window as an excuse to recede within the depths of her mind; to think of everything that had happened, of everything that was happening, and of everything that was going to happen.

It had been just over a month since the day Jessie had last seen James; since she had furiously ordered him out of her apartment. Since then she had tried to busy herself with work – to keep occupied so as not to become tied up in her emotions all over again. And yet unfailingly, Jessie found herself standing by her office window every day. It was here that she couldn't help but think of James. He completely took over her thoughts, no matter how hard she tried to ward him off.

It wasn't as though there wasn't enough work to keep her occupied, either. Since the article that _The Saunders City Times_ had printed, Paramount Corps. had had to take radical action just to stay afloat. The company had been under intense public scrutiny, and also had to deal with an official investigation into the business' affairs. Jessie and her team had undergone extensive media conferences, had completely reworked the company's structure so as to appear more community-oriented, and donated an enormous sum of money to various charity organisations. There was still some public scepticism concerning Paramount Corps., but otherwise the company had admittedly done an outstanding job in being able to save itself.

Still, Jessie's mind was continually centred on one thing: James. Sometimes she found herself angry at this fact – angry that he had control over the one thing that _she_ was supposed to have control of. Sometimes Jessie found herself overwhelmed with sadness, and she would have to bite her lip hard to keep herself from breaking down in tears. Other times she would just find herself in a daze, feeling completely and utterly lost.

Her mind would reel over question upon question: Was she too hard on him? Had he really forgotten about filing that feature story for _The Times_? Was he thinking about her now, back in Fieldsville? What did that night they spent together mean to him? If he really cared about her so much, why hadn't he tried to contact her? If she hadn't sent him away that day, what would have happened? How would their relationship have played out?

The more she thought about James, the more stupid she felt for sending him away from her. The more she thought about him, the more she also realised how little she was enjoying her job. She used to love being the CEO of such a company as Paramount Corps. Now there was no satisfaction in coming to her office everyday; in being in charge of an entire company and all the people within it. None of that seemed to matter in the least anymore.

So what _did_ matter? Jessie had spent many nights tossing and turning in her bed, trying to think of the answer. She had spent countless hours at her window, trying to sort her life out while the city – a city she had come to no longer feel a part of – bustled below her. It seemed that in the time that she was away from Saunders City, everything had changed so that the place she called home no longer _felt_ like home. Frustratingly, the only thing that felt remotely familiar to Jessie anymore was James. Or at least the thought of him, anyway.

Now, Jessie stood at her window, just as she had done so many times over the past month. However, today she held a large envelope against her chest, clasping it tightly with her slender fingers. She looked down at it, feeling the weight of the many papers that were enclosed inside. Jessie had been quietly gathering these papers over the past few days, filling out forms, collecting signatures and writing statement upon statement. Now everything was finally set to go. Hesitation, however, was holding Jessie in its grasp, and she remained standing by her window. She tried to go over everything in her mind – to make sure that this was what she wanted to do.

A knocked sounded suddenly at her door, rousing Jessie from her deep thought.

"Come in," she signalled, turning to look at her visitor. She wasn't surprised to see the young 'gopher', Bernard, enter the room. Ever since the incident with Michael and Olivia at Paramount Corps., Bernard and Jessie had formed a strange connection. He would often stop by her office during the day just to see how she was, and Jessie was always happy to have the boy's company.

"How are you, Miss. Avalon?"

"Fine thankyou, Bernard. Yourself?"

Jessie watched Bernard open his mouth to reply, and then as he faltered when he spied her desk. He looked confusedly at her.

"Miss. Avalon? Why have you packed your things?" He asked in an almost panicked voice.

Jessie looked to her desk. It was entirely empty, aside from the cardboard box that sat atop it filled with her few things from the office. She then glanced down to the envelope in her hands, before looking back to Bernard.

"I'm leaving," she sighed.

Bernard's jaw fell open. "What? But… why?"

"I don't enjoy myself here anymore, Bernard. I don't belong here anymore," Jessie replied, not wanting to elaborate any further than that.

Bernard gazed at Jessie, still looking confused. He also looked a little hurt, as though Jessie's decision to leave was a personal attack against him.

"I'm sorry," she said. "This is just something I have to do. Ruth Parker is taking over as the new CEO. She'll do a good job."

Bernard swallowed, and then nodded weakly. "We'll miss you," he said quietly.

Jessie smiled, inwardly doubting that many people would miss her here. She walked toward him though, and took a deep breath. It was time. No more stalling.

"Can you do some things for me before I leave today, Bernard?"

"Of course, Miss. Avalon. Anything," Bernard swiftly replied.

"I need to you get one of the delivery guys to drop that box off at my apartment," she said, indicating the box atop her desk. "I also need you to give this envelope to Ruth Parker. It's my resignation file – she'll be the one to deal with all that now."

Bernard took the large envelope from Jessie, looking down at it sorrowfully.

"Yes, Miss Avalon. Is that all?"

"No," Jessie said, "I need you to get one of the pilots in to prepare a helicopter within the next fifteen minutes."

Bernard looked confusedly at Jessie once again. "Uh… where shall I say the destination is?"

"Fieldsville."

* * *

Okay. Only one more chapter to go, everyone. This giant saga is _finally_ about to come to an end! I do hope that you are all still enjoying the story… just hold tight, only a little bit more to come :D

Till Next Time,

Bansheegirl.


	24. Rest Your Heart

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Written by BansheeGirl  
**  
**A/N: **Yes folks, it's finally that time. This is the _last_ chapter of MFoLaC! It has been more than a year in the making, but you finally have your finale. I have had an amazing time writing this story for you all, and I really hope you enjoyed reading it just as much. Please, read on – do enjoy this last stretch, and please leave me one last review when you're done! Thankyou all!

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1 or 2!

* * *

**Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy**

**Chapter 24: Rest Your Heart**

James sat at the kitchen table, staring down at the local newspaper before him but not absorbing a single word. After fruitlessly reading the same sentence three times, he finally flipped the newspaper shut and rested his head in his hands atop the table.

For a month it had been like this. He had been completely unable to concentrate on anything, and it was frustrating the hell out of him. All he could think of was _Jessie_, and how she had so easily slipped straight through his fingers. That frustrated him even more. Everyday he felt like jumping on one of the helicopters and heading straight to Saunders City to see Jessie; to plead for forgiveness, and to tell her that she was all he ever thought of. But as more and more days passed, the thought of things ever reconciling between him and Jessie became less and less plausible. James kept telling himself to let her go, but she was like a thorn buried too deep under his skin – and every time he tried to dig her out he only made things worse.

"Are you alright, dear?" Came Mary's voice, piercing James' reverie.

James lifted his head from his hands, eyeing the elderly woman who was characteristically stirring something in a pot over the stove.

"I'm fine," he murmured.

"Why don't you go watch some television with the others?"

"I'm _fine_," James repeated, having no desire to go and pretend to be distracted by some meaningless TV show. He thought of Ian, Sam, Cate and her two children sitting in the living room, and Mary here with him, and how distant he had felt from them all since he had arrived back in Fieldsville. It was like Jessie had torn a gaping chasm within him, and his friends here in Fieldsville paled in their efforts to fill it.

When James had arrived back in Fieldsville after quickly leaving Saunders City, the Lodging House had already caught news of the incident at Paramount Corps. Everyone was entirely shocked at Olivia's involvement in the scheme, and even still were struggling to get over their friend's betrayal. James, on the other hand, had an easy time forgetting his raven-haired ex-girlfriend. All he had to think of was her hands clasping tight around his neck, or her gun pressing down upon Jessie and Olivia could rot in jail for all he cared.

What had suddenly struck James just a few days ago, however, was something Olivia had said to him before her tranquilised form was carted away by the police:

_"Just so you know… I wasn't the only one from Fieldsville who betrayed you. Think about that, James…"_

Had Olivia just been toying with James? Deliberately trying to cause a rift among the Lodging House residents? Or was she speaking the truth, and there was someone else involved in her deceitful scheme?

James thought about this now, as he sat at the kitchen table. He wondered whether there was someone else in this House right now, guilty of contributing towards a crime and yet happily remaining undetected. Would he ever know? Did he _want _to know? The thought of another one of his friends betraying him made him sick. He looked up at Mary, debating as to whether he should tell her what Olivia told him. Perhaps Mary had noticed something odd about one of the other residents…

"Mary?"

"Yes, dear?"

James took a deep breath. "Just before the police took her away… Olivia told me… She said that there was someone else from Fieldsville involved in her plan."

Mary immediately stopped stirring whatever was in the pot on the stove, but remained facing away from James. "James, you can't keep dwelling on that incident. Don't you think it's time you moved on?"

"How can I move on if I know there's somebody else here who helped Olivia?

"Come on, James. Don't be ridiculous," Mary laughed, and started stirring her pot again.

James looked incredulously at Mary. "I'm being serious, Mary. Why are you dismissing this?"

"James, I really think you should just go watch some television, or have a quiet nap before dinner. You are obviously very tired," Mary said in a stern voice.

James pushed himself up from his chair and skirted around the table to stand beside Mary at the stove. "Mary," he began, in an equally firm voice, "Do you think someone here was involved in Olivia's plan, or not?"

He watched Mary as she quite obviously tried to suppress a nervous tremor in her hand while she continued to stir the substance in the pot. He inwardly prayed that she wouldn't try to avoid the question again, for that would undoubtedly only mean one thing…

"James, please. I'm trying to cook dinner here," she replied, this time in a much weaker voice.

James felt his insides sink.

"It was you," he stated, his voice tinged with disgust. "You helped Olivia. You helped her try and kill Jessie."

Mary finally lifted her head to look at James. Her expression called for sympathy, but James only felt his utter disgust heighten.

"_You_, Mary. You of all people! How could you?" He spat.

"James, I wasn't about to sit back and watch Fieldsville destroyed! I've lived here my whole life! And I had all of _you_ to think of," she offered pleadingly, but James had already turned on his heel and was rapidly making his way out of the kitchen.

He absent-mindedly grabbed a thick jacket from a closet near the front door, and determinedly stepped outside into the snow. Stuffing his hands inside his pockets, he began walking along the snow-covered street, making deep impressions in the soft white powder as anger and frustration and disgust was infused into every single step.

Mary. Mary had betrayed him. Olivia had betrayed him. He looked out along the street, and realised that Fieldsville – the Fieldsville he thought he loved so much – had betrayed him too. He had saved his town, but in the process his town had been unable to save him. He wanted to keep walking – walk straight out of Fieldsville, walk on and on until he found somewhere he belonged again. But where would that be?

James pushed on, not knowing where his feet were taking him. He was simply glad to be getting _away_. He ignored the 'hello's and 'how are you, James's from various Fieldsville residents he passed by. He just kept walking.

As he neared the edge of Fieldsville, James spotted a figure walking in the opposite direction to him, towards town. Off a little way in the distance he spied an extra helicopter on the town's designated helipad area. Its rotors were still spinning, indicating that it had probably just landed.

James continued to walk away from Fieldsville, and the figure continued to walk toward it, and the gap between the two people began to diminish rapidly. As James became closer, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he realised the figure seemed hauntingly familiar. Looking rather odd in a business jacket and skirt teamed with high snow boots and a wool-lined parka, it was in fact _Jessie_ that was advancing toward Fieldsville. Toward him.

The pair stopped at about two metres between them. Each was wordless for several moments.

"Hi," Jessie finally articulated.

"Hi. How are you?"

Jessie shrugged noncommittally. She looked behind James toward Fieldsville, up at the mountains looming above, and then back to him. "What are you doing out here?" She questioned.

James looked at Jessie. Why was _she_ here? How had she suddenly just appeared, after weeks of nothing? It was almost surreal. There was so much he wanted to say to Jessie, and yet now he was suddenly faced with her the words simply wouldn't come.

"I just needed to get away," he responded.

"I see."

"What are _you_ doing out here?"

A brief smile flickered across Jessie's face. "I just needed to get away."

"You needed to get away… and you came to Fieldsville?"

James watched Jessie as her eyes dropped to stare at her feet. What was she thinking? It seemed ridiculous that they were standing here, together, in the snow, in the middle of nowhere. They both obviously had things to say to one another. And yet they were both still acting so restrained, as if neither mattered to the other in the least.

James took a step toward Jessie, so that only a metre remained between them. This made Jessie quickly snap her head up to look at him, and James froze, wondering whether he had just made a very bad move.

"I quit my job," she quickly stated, taking James very much off-guard.

"What? Why?" He exclaimed. He had not expected her to come out with that at all.

Jessie shrugged again.

"Jessie…"

"I didn't feel I belonged there anymore," she instantly responded, and her voice was suddenly picking up speed. "I don't want to be the CEO of Paramount Corps. anymore… I don't want to be the _person_ I was before!"

James frowned, starting to become confused as to why Jessie was really here.

"What? Then… who _do_ you want to be?"

Jessie sighed as though she were about to cry, but she swallowed quickly and looked up at James with gleaming eyes.

"I just want to… I don't _know_! I just want to be me. I just want to be… Jessie. I want to go far, far away from Paramount Corps., and from Saunders City. I want to leave everything behind…"

What was Jessie saying? Was she here to say goodbye to him, once and for all? James wanted to reach out and hold her, to pull her close. How could he let her go again?

"Jessie, I-"

"-Wait, James. I need to say more," Jessie cut in, and she quickly wiped away a stray tear that had managed to make its way down her cheek. "For the past month, I haven't stopped thinking about you. No matter how hard I try, I just can't get you out of my mind. But I've realised… I don't _want_ to get you out of my mind! I don't _want_ to forget about you. I don't want to never see you again…"

James' mouth gaped slightly as Jessie's words washed over him.

"…I _do _want to leave everything behind, James. But I want you to come with me," Jessie finished.

The metre closed between them.

James reached out and wrapped his arms around Jessie, holding her tight like he had dreamed of doing every night since they parted. Jessie complied entirely, leaning in against his chest. She sobbed against his jacket, and James ran a hand over her soft crimson hair as he too closed his eyes tightly to try and hold back a wave of stinging tears.

"I would go to the end of the earth with you, Jessie," he whispered into her ear.

And there the pair stood, embracing, alone but finally together in the cold winter snow of the Crystal Mountains. Just like the mysterious magnetic forces that skewed any compass in these mountains, it seemed that some strange but powerful magnetic force had drawn them together again. And this time things would stay that way.

* * *

…And that's a wrap! See? A happy ending after all. You can all sleep peacefully tonight!

Wow, I truly can't believe it's all over. I feel very accomplished for finally finishing this long story. I really hope that you – all my wonderful, wonderful readers – have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it.

I need to shout out a _huge_ thankyou to everyone who has taken the time to leave me a review throughout the course of this story. Most importantly, I want to thank the amazing people who have constantly reviewed almost every chapter, and have stayed with me right through til the end. You know who you are. You all really kept me going on this one.

Now, this is a big goodbye for me. _Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy_ marks the end of my fanfiction writing career. I have devoted a lot of my time to writing fanfiction, and I don't regret a single minute of it. But I'd really like to move on and start working on my own ideas and characters in the future, so I won't be posting here anymore. I hope that Rocketshippy fanfiction doesn't die out, though… keep the spirit alive, guys!

Once again a big thankyou to everyone reading this. Take care everyone!

Blasting off for the last time,

BansheeGirl.


End file.
